Alternate Fushigi Yuugi
by NightElfCrawler
Summary: Trip down Memory Lane. An archived story I'm bringing back.
1. Chapter 1

**_Alternate Fushigi Yuugi_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

_Stranger in a Strange Land_

**note:**_ This is a work of fanfiction. I do not intend to make a profit off Fushigi Yuugi, it belongs to Watase Yuu, so don't sue me.  
>This is intended to be an alternate reality story, a 'what would have happened if' scenario. There are spoilers for the whole series, and possibly OVA's as well, so be forewarned.<em>

* * *

><p>"I have some money I think." Miaka began rummaging through her pocket.<p>

Meanwhile, Yui felt a sudden rage at the man's impudence at demanding money for saving them of his own accord, and was therefore going to give him a piece of her mind. "Hey!" She stood up and started after his departing figure, "Wait just one minute now!" Feeling very angry and confused, she began to dash after the man, momentarily forgetting about her school friend still sitting searching for money. She quickly managed to catch up with the man, and grabbed onto his elbow.

Gasping she glared at him. "Look, can you at least have the decency to tell us where we are?"

The young man looked down at Yui condescendingly. "If you don't have money, I'm not interested. Bye." He began to turn to leave once again, when suddenly he stiffened and his eyes widened in evident surprise.

Yui frowned, then glanced over her shoulder, following his gaze.

A bright beam of red light was streaming from behind the rise in the path, and Yui suddenly felt a sudden clutch of fear grip her heart.

"Miaka!"

Not waiting for the man, she sprinted full force towards her lagging friend, only to find no one there, and the mysterious light gone as well, as elusive as fog.

"Gone..." She whispered, fear struck. She stood there, staring at the bare desert before her, no indication of Miaka anywhere, not even a footprint in the hard earth.

So stunned was Yui, that she didn't realize the young man had followed her back and was looking around for her friend as well. After a prolonged silence, he spoke, startling Yui.

"Well... now just what is going on here? Who are you?" He stared at her hard, scrutinizing her odd foreign clothing and appearance. "First I save you and your weird dressed friend from some thugs, two girls alone in the desert with no money, and then this weird red light. What are you anyway?"

Yui felt suddenly shy of the young man, and dropped her eyes to the cracked dirt ground, hoping for an answer to surface that didn't seem crazy. Unfortunately, none came to her.

After some silence, the man sighed. "Look, I'll do you a favor and take you into town. Then you can find some transportation back to wherever you came from, ok?" He started off without waiting for an answer from Yui.

Realizing that there was no answers to be found here anymore, Yui scowled slightly and caught up with the man, irritated by his behavior.

"Hey, you can at least be a little more polite to a stranger! You don't seem too upset by all of this!"

He stared at her. "And why should I? I saved two poor girls and didn't get paid for it. Then your friend disappears like some sort of ghost or something. So why should I get myself all worried about some stupid little girls like you?" He put his arms behind his head and began walking ahead of her again, very aloof.

Yui felt a sudden fiery rage build from inside of her, like she had never experienced before. Mostly this was due to her bafflement and fear of this strange place, and the bizarre things that had just happened to her in the past few minutes, such as being sucked into a strange book, which was odd in itself, but then also this rude guy with a glowing symbol on his forehead, and then Miaka disappearing didn't help cool her temper any.

In short, Yui blew a fuse.

Running ahead, she grabbed his arm forcing him to stop and turn towards her, and then with one quick movement, her hand swiped across his face with a hurricane force.

Breathing heavily, her face flushed with anger, she proceeded to purge her pent up emotions. "Who the HELL do you think you are? You don't give a damn for anyone do you? You think that money is the only thing in the world, and that human beings have no self worth! You come in and save Miaka and me, and I'm very grateful to you. But then you demand a reward and brush us off like pocket lint! You don't even bother to ask if we need help! I think you are the most self centered, money grubbing, scum of the earth and you aren't worthy to be called a man!"

All this time the man had been standing there, holding his ruby red cheek in shock. When Yui had finished, his face had turned the same color as his cheek, and his eyes looked about ready to turn any living thing to stone.

"Che, what a rotten thing to say." He turned away suddenly, and Yui suffered a sudden pang of guilt. "You don't even know the HALF of it!"

Yui suddenly realized how nasty she had just been to the guy who had saved her life, and felt awful towards her behavior suddenly. She reached out a hand to put on his shoulder, but he turned away, hiding his face.

"You don't understand anything, stupid girl...Money makes all the difference in this world. It makes the rich famous, and makes the poor deprived. Money rules the world, lady, and that's the only thing that matters...because money can buy you anything...even happiness and love."

Yui suddenly realized that the man was speaking from deep in his heart of something that was very important, and very meaningful to him. There was some reason he wanted money, and she was now sure it wasn't a selfish one.

"I..I'm sorry.." She managed to say softly, "I didn't understand how much it meant to you...I guess I take money too much for granted where I'm from. But still, you might be a little more sensitive to people's needs. I mean, I have no idea where I am..I know I'm nowhere in my own world, but the question is then, if I'm not in my world, where am I?"

Finally turning around to look at her, he gave her another appraisal, this time a more thorough one. "Another world?"

Realizing that may have been a mistake to mention, but knowing it was too late now, she nodded, a blush rising to her cheeks.

He frowned and scratched his head in thought. "So you're not from Konan?"

"Konan?"

"Yeah, that's this country."

"No," she said nervously, "To tell you the truth I've never heard of it...I live in Tokyo."

He shook his head. "I've never heard of that country either, so I guess that doesn't help us much."

"Oh, it's not a country, Tokyo is the capital of Japan, that's the country's name."

He shrugged. "Whatever. You're not from around here anyway." He seemed to be lost in thought for a few minutes. Yui was beginning to notice the surrounding countryside was turning greener as they made their way along the dirt path into town.

Finally, the man sighed. "Look, I'll help you out if you promise not to say any more crummy things about me, ok?"

Feeling relieved, she nodded in acquiesce.

"Great. I think maybe I'll take you to my family's home for a few days, while I find out how I can get you home, wherever that is. By the way, I'm Sou Kichifu, but you can call me Tamahome."

"I'm Hongo Yui. Just call me Yui." 


	2. Chapter 2

**_Alternate Fushigi Yuugi_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

_Going Nowhere In Particular_

**note:**_ This is a work of fanfiction. I do not intend to make a profit off Fushigi Yuugi, it belongs to Watase Yuu, so don't sue me.  
>This is intended to be an alternate reality story, a 'what would have happened if' scenario. There are spoilers for the whole series, and possibly OVA's as well, so be forewarned.<em>

* * *

><p>Thudded footfalls echoed loudly in the dusty room in the upper floor of the national library. Dashing between the rows of crowded bookshelves, Miaka frantically searched for her friend.<p>

"Yui-chan?"

She stopped in the center of the room in bewilderment, fright and worry on her face as she couldn't find Yui. Then her eyes fell onto the small ancient looking book they had been reading that had fallen open on the floor.

Curiosity overcoming her worry, she bent down and knelt in front of the book. She hadn't been able to read it before, it had been in ancient Chinese and Yui had read it to her, but suddenly before her eyes, the words in the Shijin Tenchi Sho began to become coherent. Not being able to help herself, she picked the book up and began to read. "'So the girl headed through the capital of Konan Country with the young man Tamahome. They passed through the outskirts of the city, and headed into the surrounding countryside, an uncomfortable silence hanging between them...'"

Yui sighed. They had been walking for about a mile since leaving the bustling city and she was lost in thought. Oblivious to her surroundings, many thoughts were fleeting through her mind. 'Where is Miaka? Is she alright now? What if she got sent back home...after all that red light was the same that brought us here. How am I going to get back home?'

Suddenly, the young man cleared his throat breaking the silence that he had been feeling very uncomfortable in. "Well, you must have found the capital interesting. Do they have anything like that in your world?"

Yui looked up, pushing her troubles away for the moment. "Well, we do have big cities, yes, but nothing like here. Our cities are crowded, polluted, and have cars packed everywhere. The city here was much smaller, and much more beautiful than anything I have ever seen before." She looked over at him seeing he was staring at her. As soon as she looked, however, he became very interested in the scenery around them.

Yui smiled to herself. "So, what is your family like Tamahome?"

They spent the next several minutes chatting comfortably about his family and her family. Soon, they found themselves more at ease with each other's presence, and feeling a bit more casual as they walked along.

Yui stopped in the road after they reached the crest of a hill and wiped her brow wearily. Tamahome stopped and turned, waiting for her. "What's the matter?"

She unbuttoned her jacket and quickly removed it. The weather was much warmer in Konan than it had been in Tokyo, and she found herself sweating profusely wearing her long sleeve blouse and her uniform jacket as well. Slinging her jacket over her shoulder, she caught up with him. "Sorry, I'm just suddenly hot. Is it much farther to your village?"

He shook his head. "No, only about another five miles." Noticing the look of fatigue on her face, he smiled suddenly. "Hey, you want to stop and rest for a while? I know of a lake just down here in the valley. We can stop there and get a drink, and rest for a little bit if you want. After all, we're in no hurry."

Relief flooded her face, and they headed down to the lake.

Sure to his word, just a little bit ahead off the path was a small lake nestled in among the trees, providing the shade and water that Yui needed.

As she drank the cool crisp liquid, she marveled that she could never find such pure water like this anywhere in her world.

"Ahh, this feels so good! Tamahome, aren't you going to get a drink?"

He was making his way into the trees behind them. Upon hearing her call his name, he turned his head. "Be back in a minute."

Yui wondered what he was doing, then suddenly realized what it must be, and she colored slightly. Then she heard a soft laugh from behind her, and looked, startled.

A young man was seated on the lake's edge just a bit up from where she had stooped to drink. He was incredibly good looking, having long thick black hair falling down on his shoulders, and wearing a rich red tunic. At first, Yui had the impression that he was a woman, but after taking a second glance, realized she had been mistaken.

She smiled tentatively. "Hello."

The young man smiled back. "Hello. You seem to be worn out. You are traveling?"

He had a mellow rich voice that was pleasant to the ear and seeming to belong to one used to giving speeches, so Yui immediately felt at ease in his presence. She straightened up and strolled over to where he was seated on the lake's bank. "Yes, we're going to," she gestured over her shoulder towards where Tamahome had gone, "...my companion's home. We've been walking for hours."

The man smiled again, and Yui noticed he seemed to be very interested in her clothing, studying her outfit nondescriptly. Uncomfortably, she shifted her jacket to her other arm.

The man suddenly gestured for her to sit. "Please, sit down, you must be tired."

She took his advice, and seated herself beside him, but still at a practical distance from the stranger. She set her jacket down and leaned back, enjoying the feeling of sitting in the grass. "So, are you traveling too?"

He nodded. "Yes, returning to the capital from a meeting."

"Ah, we just came from there."

The man nodded again, and turned his gaze out towards the placid lake. "How did you find it?"

She looked at him rather surprised, and he elaborated more.

"What I meant is, you don't seem to be from Konan, and I was curious how you found the city to be."

Now Yui was beginning to worry. 'People seem to know I'm not from this place. It's probably the uniform.'

But the man broke into her thoughts again. "I'll bet the capital was a new sight for you. It must be different from your village, right?"

She nodded, trying to think of how she could evade his indirect question. "Yes, it is very different. I've never seen such fantastic architecture before."

He smiled, and leaned forward, bringing his knees up to his chest. "Yes, there are many legends associated with the construction of those mighty walls." He turned to her. "Have you heard of those legends?"

She shook her head.

The man continued. "Well, back when the first emperor of Konan was given the Shijin Tenchi Sho, he ordered the-"

He was suddenly interrupted as Yui jumped to her feet, a look of surprise on her face. "What did you say?"

His pretty amber eyes held a look of surprise at her sudden outburst. "What is the matter?"

"What was that that the first emperor was given?"

He frowned slightly. "You mean the Shijin Tenchi Sho?"

"Yes!" Yui was shaking inside from excitement. 'That's the name of the book! The one that Miaka and I were reading when we were sucked in, I'm sure of it!'

The man was gazing at her with an odd thoughtful expression on his face, and spoke again. "The Shijin Tenchi Sho is an ancient scroll given to each of the four countries in this world. It tells of the story of the country's protector, in our case Suzaku no Miko, arriving from another world and summoning the god." His eyes were boring into her, but she wasn't paying attention.

She sat down beside him again, and looked him square in the eyes. "A girl from another world?"

"Yes, that is correct. According to the legend, Suzaku no Miko is a girl from a world other than our own. When she arrives, she will search for her seven Seishi, her Warriors, and with their help she will summon the God Suzaku and have all her wishes and desires come true. That is the ancient legend that has been passed down from the time of the world's creation."

Yui was staring sightlessly, lost in thought. '"This is the story about a girl who summoned the power of Suzaku and had all her dreams fulfilled. As soon as the page is turned, the story will become the truth and begin..." Could it be? Could it be that I am inside the book, and the story has begun to become the truth for me?'

"Is something the matter?"

She looked up suddenly, remembering the man beside her. "Oh, no, nothing...it's just, well..." She trailed off, realizing that it might not be too smart to tell him that she was from another world. However, he seemed to know this already.

"You are from another world, unless I'm mistaken."

She looked at him, wondering how he could be so casual about it, but his face was smiling brilliantly, a warmth radiating out. "I suspected this. You don't blend in here too well."

She sighed and nodded, giving up trying to hide anything from him. "So, what does that mean?"

He looked at her. "Well, it means that you have the option of becoming Suzaku no Miko if you so desire. You would become famous, treated like an empress, and given everything you wish for."

She stared at him, disbelieving his words. "Perhaps I don't want all of that."

"You have no wish for anything in the world at all?" He sounded incredulous. "Surely there must be something you wish for."

"All I want is to get back home and find my friend Miaka."

"Well, Suzaku's power can do that for you."

"It can?"

He nodded. Suddenly there was a voice from the trees calling out. The man glanced in that direction, then stood. "I am sorry, but I must go now." He looked down at her, a special gaze in his eyes. "Think about what I said..."

Tamahome approached as Yui stood and he listened in on the end of the conversation. "If you decide you wish to accept the position, then go to the palace of the emperor in the capital, and ask for Hotohori." He smiled gently at Yui, then nodded at Tamahome, and strode off into the trees.

Tamahome scratched his head thoughtfully. "What was that about? Who was he?"

Yui watched the trees for a while, hoping the mysterious, and quite handsome, Hotohori would return, but he didn't. "He told me how I can get back home. He said that I could become Suzaku no Miko and summon the god to get back home."

Tamahome frowned. "Suzaku no Miko?"

Yui shrugged with apparent diffidence. "Never mind, I'm not sure I understand it anyway. Let's go."

"'The girl and the man with the sign on the oni on his forehead made their way into the man's village. There they spent several days. The girl was glad to be a part of a warm caring family, such as the young man's, but she began to pine for her own home and worry about her friend.'"

Yui sat at the dinner table after the meal had been cleared away, with Yurien on her lap sleeping soundly. It had been a week since they had arrived here, and she had discovered that Tamahome's reason for hoarding money was solely to feed his family. That thought warmed her heart, and she gladly offered to help around the house while Tamahome helped his younger brother tend the field. Tamahome's family was very glad to have her help, and the children loved her cooking. She also felt it was something of her responsibility, what with Tamahome's father not feeling well lately.

She sighed as she lay a gentle hand on top of the young girl's head resting in her lap. 'Such close bonds they share with one another.' She felt a lonely pang hit her chest as she thought of her own family. She knew they would be worried sick about her by now, and she hoped that Miaka was o.k.

Suddenly, Tamahome's father fell into a spasm of coughing, and she rushed to his side, worried. Yurien clung to her leg whimpering for her father as he continued to cough uncontrollably. Tamahome, hearing the noise, rushed in from outside with his brother at his heels. The other children had been playing also flocked worriedly to their father's bedside.

Soon the spasm ended, leaving Tamahome's father weak and pale. Yui did what she could for him, a sad feeling for the family welling up in her heart.

She knew what she had to do.

That evening, she took Tamahome aside and spoke to him privately. "Tamahome, I have decided to become Suzaku no Miko."

He stared at her, then scowled.

She put a hand on his arm cautioning him to wait until she finished. "I have been doing some thinking all this week, and now I know what I have to do. If I become Suzaku no Miko, then I can go back home, but I'll also be able to help your family too."

That got his attention. "How so?"

"Well, Hotohori-san said that I would become famous, and told me to go to the palace. So it's safe to say that I would get to meet the emperor, and maybe he can lend me some money so we can hire some doctors to heal you father, or maybe he can help your family out in other ways too. And even if he isn't willing to do that, maybe one of these seven Seishi knows something about medicine, and can help. And if all else fails, then when I summon Suzaku and ask for my wishes, I can request that your father be well, and your family to be better off." Her eyes had met his while she had been talking, and she could see that he resented asking others to help out financially, but he realized that what she was proposing had some merit to it.

Finally, he nodded. "Yeah, guess it makes sense." He looked up at her. "Ok, I'll help you get to the capital and see this Hotohori guy."

She threw her arms around him warmly. "Thank you Tamahome, thank you."

As they stood there in the evening dusk, both of them felt a warm feeling rise inside them, comforting and soothing. 


	3. Chapter 3

**_Alternate Fushigi Yuugi_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

_The Palace of the Sultan (um...no wait..)_

**note:**_ This is a work of fanfiction. I do not intend to make a profit off Fushigi Yuugi, it belongs to Watase Yuu, so don't sue me.  
>This is intended to be an alternate reality story, a 'what would have happened if' scenario. There are spoilers for the whole series, and possibly OVA's as well, so be forewarned.<em>

* * *

><p>"'And so the girl and the young man headed into town the following morning, not knowing what the future would hold for them, only knowing that it was the right thing to do...'"<p>

Miaka rubbed her stomach, pausing in her reading as her tummy complained loudly of the lack of nourishment. Usually, she would comply and feed it immediately, her appetite being one of the infamous things about her, but in this case she couldn't stop reading. It was almost as if something was drawing her into the story, involving her, forcing her to continue reading.

Complying with the subliminal demands, Miaka picked up the book and continued. "'The two made their way into town, and to the main gate of the palace, where they stopped not knowing how to proceed...'"

Yui stared up at the massive ornate walls of the palace grounds in wonder. 'Such magnificent carvings!'

Tamahome frowned beside her. "Ok, we made it to the palace, but now what? We just gonna march up and say 'Hi there, we're friends of someone named Hotohori who told us to come here. Will you let us in please?'" He received a vicious glance from Yui.

"Well, it won't hurt to TRY at least." She strode up to the guards at the gate and nervously bowed. "Hello, umm, my friend and I ran into someone about a week ago who told us to come here and ask for him. His name is Hotohori. I don't suppose he's here?"

Both the guards were staring at her incredulously, while in the background Tamahome looked like he wanted to shrink out of sight.

"What are you, a lunatic?" One guard rudely demanded. "We're not about to believe a crazy story like that from a wench with a bad taste in clothing. Go away before we have you arrested for loitering."

Yui was taken aback by the ill mannered guard. 'So much for diplomacy.' She decided to try another tactic. "But you see, I'm Suzaku no Miko, and I've decided to go and look for the Shishi Seichi." {joke: Yui accidentally switched the words around for "shichi Seishi". This instead means "lion's den"}

Tamahome gave an exasperated sigh and elbowed his way in quickly as the guards grabbed roughly onto Yui. "Hey, you shouldn't pick on a woman who's defenseless, moran!" He delivered a sudden swift kick to one guard's groin while bringing his hand sharply against the other's neck.

Instantly, more guards sprang to the alarm, swelling on top of Tamahome, forcing him to the ground. As he tried to escape their grips, he saw two guards roughly handling Yui who was trying to keep from screaming in terror. A ferocious wave of anger surged through him, and illuminated the character on his forehead brilliantly. "LEAVE HER ALONE!" None of the guards were able to hold him as he tore out of their grasp and instantly knocked the two fondling Yui out cold. Then taking a defensive stance in front of her, with his back to the wall, Tamahome glared at them. "If you lay one finger on her-"

"STOP THIS IMMIDIATELY!"

All heads turned sharply at the loud commanding bellow.

Yui turned her head so she could see the speaker. It was a tall man with rich red robes and a small bucket-like crown on his head.

Instantly all the guards fell to their faces on the ground. "Koutei heika!"

Tamahome instantly fell to his face and cried out "Koutei heika" as well, while Yui stood looking uncertain.

The emperor stepped forward and smiled down at her gently, and it was then that she suddenly recognized him. "Ho-Hotohori!"

The emperor nodded and offered her a hand to stand up, and she gratefully took it. "Yes, I am sorry that I deceived you the other day, but I did not think it was necessary for you to know at the time. Please forgive me, Suzaku no Miko."

Feeling rather dazed by the entire event, Yui looked up at Hotohori bewildered, then the sudden rush of all the events caught up with her, and everything began to swim in front of her as she sunk towards the ground. The last thing she remembered was the concerned voice of Hotohori calling to her, and Tamahome crying her name.

"'Suzaku no Miko slept well, a dreamless pleasant sleep that left her feeling refreshed when she awoke some hours later. Finding no one around, she left the rich room she had found herself in, and managed to find her way to the main throne room where the emperor and Tamahome were conversing.'"

As Yui entered the room, she heard Tamahome's and Hotohori's voices talking softly. When she walked through the doorway, Hotohori looked up from his chair and smiled warmly at her. "Welcome, Yui-sama. Are you feeling better?"

Tamahome instantly turned, standing up, and walked over to her, concern on his face. "Are you ok Yui?"

She nodded to both their queries, and joined the two men quickly. "Yes, I'm fine. I guess I was just overwhelmed and confused by everything that had happened. I'm fine now that I'm rested a bit."

Hotohori nodded. "Good, I am relieved." He glanced back down at the scroll he was holding in his hands. "Tamahome and I were just going over the Shijin Tenchi Sho, reviewing the legend."

"Oh, good. I need to know what I have to do in order to summon this god."

Hotohori nodded. "Everything you need to know is written here." He held up the scroll. "To start off, you must find the seven Seishi of Suzaku."

Yui nodded. "So I remember you saying. How am I supposed to find them? And how will I know who they are?"

Hotohori laid the scroll down and gestured for the two to follow him. He led them into an adjacent room with a huge golden idol of a phoenix set on an alter. As Yui gazed upon the bird, she felt a sense of awe surround her.

Hotohori walked to the far wall and gestured to the mosaic painted on the wall. "This is the constellations of the sky. Suzaku is the section of the heavens in the south, and is grouped by the seven different constellations inside of it. They are: Chichiri, Nuriko, Tamahome, Chiriko, Tasuki, Mitsukake, and Hotohori."

Before Yui could utter a sound from her mouth, Hotohori had moved his collar down from his neck, revealing a red mark on the side of his neck. "I am Hotohori, the Sea Snake." He nodded to Tamahome, who's symbol flared up on his forehead. "And Tamahome is the Crab." He turned to Yui, with a smile on his face. "So all you need to do is find 5 more Seishi and you can summon Suzaku."

Yui looked at the two, with a stunned expression on her face. "You mean, you two are Seishi? You knew this all along?"

Hotohori nodded, and Tamahome did as well. Hotohori then spoke. "The Seishi are naturally driven to defending Suzaku no Miko, even if they don't wish to. It is their duty and honor to defend the Miko. When I saw you, I thought you might be the girl of the legend, and when you mentioned Tamahome's name, I knew it to be true."

"'Suzaku no Miko listened as the emperor of Konan told her more of the legend, and how she must find her remaining Seishi. Finally, at the end of the day, she wandered out among the gardens, reflecting and thinking to herself.'"

Yui was enjoying the cool evening air, when she felt a sudden chill on the back of her neck. She had been feeling it all day, a prickly sensation like she was being watched, but now that she was alone, she could feel it much clearer.

She glanced over her shoulder and spied what she had suspected. It was that woman again. She had been following her all day, and occasionally Yui had caught glimpses of her around corners, behind bushes, you name it, there she was spying on her.

Well, Yui had had enough. She made a big deal about stretching and yawning, then headed around the building's corner, and instead of continuing on, she waited there out of sight.

Sure enough, minutes later, the woman's startled face was staring into hers from around the corner.

"Good evening, isn't it?" Yui said casually. "Such a great night to be out enjoying the fresh air."

The woman pulled herself up abruptly, attempting to recapture her pride without SEEMING she was trying to recapture it. "Well, yes, it is quite a delightful night."

Yui studied her, now that she could see her more closely. The woman was very beautiful, having a long braid of deep violet hair, pulled back with a delicate comb. She had a slender figure, and seemed the pristine example of delicate beauty, yet Yui had the distinct impression that you would regret it if you got this woman angry.

So she decided to play it safe.

She walked up next to her, and leaned over the railing. "So, did you want to talk to me? Is that why you've been trying to get my attention all day?"

"I wasn't following-" The woman cut off her sentence in mid word, realizing Yui had given her a way out of embarrassment. "Well... yes, actually."

"So what can I do for you?"

The woman gave her a suspicious look. "Why are you suddenly being so helpful?"

"Because you seem to want to talk to me."

The woman had very little to say to that.

"So, is there something you want me to do? Or do you want to ask me something?" Yui was trying to be as outgoing and warm as possible, and it seemed to be working. The woman loosened up a bit.

"Well, to tell you the truth, yes...You see," the woman stopped, as if she was unsure she should be telling this to Yui, but then continued anyway. "I am a lady of the court, and have been staying here for over two years now. I have been trying DESPERATELY to get the emperor to notice me! But he just won't turn his head no matter how I dress or how I act!" She looked at Yui skeptically. "You seem to have gotten on his good side. I was wondering if you could do me a favor, and in return I could do you one."

Yui nodded warmly. "Sure, I'd be glad to help you. What is it you want me to do?"

The woman took a deep breath. Yui could tell that she was not used to asking others for help, and felt as if doing this was beneath her, but for some reason she was confiding in Yui.

"Could you perhaps drop him a hint, or just a blatant clue, to get him to notice me? Anything just to get his attention."

Yui smiled. "Yeah, sure, I can tell him, that's no problem!" Yui smiled as the woman seemed delighted by this new development. "I'll go right now and talk to him then, ok?" The woman nodded excitedly, and hugged Yui suddenly. "Oh thank you! Tell him my name is Kourin."

"'Suzaku no Miko arrived at the emperor's quarters and spoke with him for a long time. When she emerged from his room and went outside, Kourin was waiting for her with trepidation on her face.'"

"Did you speak with him? What did he say?"

Yui smiled and told her what she had impressed upon the emperor. At this news, the woman's face lit up brilliantly and she threw her arms around Yui giving her a fierce hug.

Much to Yui's surprise, the woman was very strong. No, correction, she was INCREDIBLY strong. It was all Yui could do from gasping out that she couldn't breathe. But much to her relieve, Kourin let go and smiled down at her.

"And now to keep my end of the bargain." She leaned forward conspicuously. "I will tell you where you can find your third Seishi."

Yui was instantly interested and leaned forward to hear.

Kourin pulled a flap of her dress away from her chest, revealing a red character for Willow just below her collarbone. "I'm Nuriko." 


	4. Chapter 4

**_Alternate Fushigi Yuugi_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

_Echos of the Past_

**note:**_ This is a work of fanfiction. I do not intend to make a profit off Fushigi Yuugi, it belongs to Watase Yuu, so don't sue me.  
>This is intended to be an alternate reality story, a 'what would have happened if' scenario. There are spoilers for the whole series, and possibly OVA's as well, so be forewarned.<em>

* * *

><p>"'Tamahome, Hotohori, Nuriko and Yui all sat at the supper table discussing their plans for finding the remaining Seishi. Unfortunately, there was little word of where they could find them, but Nuriko had heard of a rumor that might be connected with one of Suzaku's chosen.'"<p>

"The way I heard it is, there was a rumor of a man with a red symbol on him having lived in the village. But apparently he vanished some time ago. I don't know much more than that, but I hearing the story made me wonder if checking the town out might not hurt."

The others nodded in acquiesce, knowing that finding the Seishi may not be an easy task, so any clue might aide them in discovering their whereabouts.

"Very well then," Hotohori said standing, "We will go to this village and try to find out what we can. There are clues in the Shijin Tenchi Sho that can help us to recognize the Seishi, and perhaps this hint is enough to start on."

So the three Seishi began preparing for their journey to the village in the northern section of Konan. The court officials were not too keen on letting the emperor go out on the journey, but he insisted that he must go along as was his duty as a Seishi. Finally they assented, and reluctantly agreed to allow him to go.

"'And so Suzaku no Miko and her three Seishi set out on their journey, traveling north during the day when the weather was warm and pleasant. They spent several days traveling before arriving at the small village.'"

Yui looked around, finding the village very quaint and cute. They checked into a hotel and stabled their horses, then set out wandering around the town. Nuriko and Hotohori were both wearing simpler clothing, as not to attract too much attention as members of the court. The four wandered through the town, marveling at the shops and the friendly atmosphere.

Finally, Hotohori walked up to an elder and began asking for information on their possible lead on the Seishi. Soon he nodded and thanked the elder, then headed back towards them. "He said that, yes, there had been a man living here with a symbol on him, but he disappeared about 6 years ago. He admitted he didn't know much about the story, and recommended that we speak to another in a bakery shop just down the street."

So the group headed down the street and entered the bakery, the fresh smell of baked breads tantalizing their taste buds. Hotohori stepped up to the counter and asked for the owner, and soon a jolly man with a potbelly and rosy cheeks came out from the back wiping his hands.

"Hello! What can I do for you today?"

"We were wondering if you could give us some information on a rumor that we heard of a man who had a character on his body who lived in this area."

The baker looked surprised, and paused wiping his hands taking a long look at each of them, and noting Yui's odd clothing. "I see." He said finally nodding his head. "Alright, just give me a moment to clean up and I'll be right with you." He disappeared in the back, and they milled around admiring the food. When he returned, he led them into a smaller homey room in the back and seated them at a table. A plump friendly woman with a smile served them some tea and pastries. After they were well settled in, the man sat down and sighed. "So, you want to know about the man with the character?"

They nodded. "We heard that he had lived in this town for a while and were hoping you could tell us where he might be now."

"You are Suzaku no Miko, right?" He didn't wait for an answer, but nodded and smiled at her. "I thought as much. Well, I cannot tell you where he is now unfortunately, but perhaps knowing a bit of what happened here 6 years ago might give you more of a clue. But be forewarned, he might not even be still alive."

The others looked slightly shocked at this new development. One of the Seishi dead? No, it couldn't be possible could it?

The baker took a breath and began speaking. "About 6 years ago there was a horrendous flood in this area, and many people were killed. It was at this time that the young man disappeared as well. He had been raised here, and was very close friends with another young man since his childhood. They also had a girl whom they were very close with too. It was said that they were so close they could be considered brothers and sister. In fact, I am not sure which one of the boys had the character, he didn't flaunt it at all, and no one treated him any differently.

"Anyway, they were very good friends and were always seen around town together, laughing and having fun. They were known as the "threesome" and they supported each other in whatever they did.

"Unfortunately, you can guess what happened. They boys grew up and one of them fell in love with the girl, and vice versa. They announced their wedding date, and began the preparations just as the floods began to take the rivers.

"Now, no one knows the truth as to what really happened, but I happened to see the girl the day the dam broke, running away from town in tears. Unfortunately, we found her body several days later..."

The baker paused for a moment to take a long sip of his tea. His eyes had wandered drifting, then settled on the four. "I never did see the two boys again. The flood washed away half the town and it's population, and many bodies were never found." He trailed off. Then he shook his head. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news to you, Suzaku no Miko-sama, but since the two boys bodies were never found I can't tell you if they are still alive. It may be that they survived, but then I don't understand why they never returned here." He looked at them apologetically.

Feeling rather shocked and surprised, the group exchanged glances with one another. Finally Nuriko spoke. "Perhaps there may be some clue... somewhere around town that might tell us something."

The others nodded, still shocked at the thought that one of the Seishi might be dead. They were unsure what to do if that happened, and Yui began to feel a dread in her chest. She might never get back home.

The baker politely wished them luck, and they departed the shop. They wandered around town, asking the residents questions occasionally, then made their way out of the town, to the raised fields to the north of town. They looked around, marveling in the view, and made their way to a willow tree overlooking the river's bank which lay up ahead to eat some lunch.

To their surprise as they neared the tree, there was a dagger stuck deep into the trunk, and it was obvious that the only way it could have gotten it that deeply imbedded into the wood was through human hands. It was a simple blade with a ornate dark metal hilt, but very sharp.

"Hmm, I wonder how this got here." Nuriko murmured, trying to pull the knife out of the trunk using her super-human strength. Then it let go with a sudden jerk, and unfortunately Yui happened to be standing just behind Nuriko when it released.

Yui screamed as Nuriko's elbow hit her in the chest and she fell backwards, feeling no ground beneath her foot, then suddenly, the frigid river bit into her like needles of ice, piercing and sharp. She struggled desperately to get her head above the water, since she wasn't a strong swimmer, but the current was too strong for her to handle.

As she struggled, she suddenly felt strong arms grab her around her waist, and she was forced to the surface suddenly. She was out of it, feeling numb and cold, the warm body hugging her close was the only stable thing in the chaos of the water, and so she clutched the person tightly.

She was vaguely aware of a louder rushing sound, and then they were falling with nothing beneath them. She gasped in a mouthful of water as they hit bottom again, and she lost consciousness at that point.

The others meanwhile, had turned in shock at Yui's scream just in time to see her fall into the icy water and disappear. "YUIIIII!" Hotohori screamed, and was about to dive in after her when another figure shot by him and plunged into the water. "Quickly, downstream!" Nuriko screamed and dashed downstream as quick as her gown would allow her to run.

They passed a tall waterfall, it's spray from the powerful updraft wetting their faces and showing them how frigid the water was.

Suddenly, Tamahome cried out "LOOK!"

Crumpled beneath the edge of the pool created by the falls, were two figures lying in the rocks. A strange man was attempting to drag Yui up onto the dry ground, but was obviously too weak to do it, and therefore in danger of being dragged back into the river.

The three Seishi dashed down, and Nuriko grabbed onto the stranger's hands, pulling him up, while Tamahome picked Yui up gently, and laid her down on the grass.

Desperately, Tamahome shook Yui, his face pale and worry crowding his eyes. "YUI! YUI! WAKE UP YUI!"

But she didn't move.

Hotohori knelt down next to the strange man with Nuriko. He was retching water out of his lungs, and shivering fiercely, but seemed to have made it alright. Nuriko put a worried hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright? My god, that was a brave thing you did!"

The man just moaned something incoherent, his head still bowed as he coughed water up.

Meanwhile, Tamahome was desperately trying to bring Yui around, and not succeeding.

Letting Nuriko handle the stranger, Hotohori joined Tamahome, and ordered him to move aside. Kneeling over her, Hotohori immediately began trying artificial respiration on Yui. After several minutes, Yui gave a sudden lurch, and began coughing water out of her mouth. Relieved, Hotohori helped her cough it out, and Tamahome hugged her fiercely to him.

Coughing and shivering, Yui felt someone embrace her tightly. She could hear his voice asking her worriedly if she was alright, and she nodded numbly.

Meanwhile, Nuriko was helping the stranger to sit upright. Finally, he managed to sit up and she caught a glimpse of his face. Not wanting to embarrass him, she smartly kept quiet and glanced over at Yui.

Finally, Yui was able to look up after calming down. The man who had rescued her was sitting with Nuriko, watching with a pained expression on his face. "Are you alright?" Yui choked out worriedly, trying to avoid staring at his left eye.

His good eye focused suddenly, and the strange expression left his face. "Yes, I'm fine no da." He chattered. "Just need to warm up a bit no da. Are you alright na no da?"

Yui nodded mutely as she examined the stranger. His limp blue hair was falling over his face, and dripping down his cheek. He seemed fairly handsome, if it weren't for the sharp scar that ripped across his left eye and over his nose. He wore the patterned sash of a Zen Buddhist monk, and prayer beads as well.

He managed a smile in her direction and spoke, brushing his hair out of his face. "You should really watch where you step Suzaku no Miko-sama no da. One could get seriously injured in this river na no da."

Yui blinked at him in surprise, hearing the conviction in his voice. He removed his cloak, and proceeded to wring it out. He then stood shakily, and fastened his cloak around him again. "I'll be back no da."

Nuriko jumped to her feet suddenly. "Hey wait one minute! Who are you anyway?" But the strange monk was already gone from sight into the woods.

Sighing, Nuriko wondered who this mysterious man was, and shook her head in confusion.

They had managed to start a fire and were tending to it when the monk returned. He came in with a broad smile on his face, wearing a bamboo hat and carrying a staff. "I'm back no da. I brought something to eat na no da." He tossed a basket filled with fresh bread and some dried tea leaves. He then lay his staff down and took his hat off, then proceeded to pull a fishing pole out from the recesses of his hat, startling the group. "I'll go and catch us some dinner no da."

They watched in amazement as the monk seated himself by the pool's edge and started fishing. 


	5. Chapter 5

**_Alternate Fushigi Yuugi_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

_What Does a Body Matter?_

_**note:**_ This is a work of fanfiction. I do not intend to make a profit off Fushigi Yuugi, it belongs to Watase Yuu, so don't sue me.  
>This is intended to be an alternate reality story, a 'what would have happened if' scenario. There are spoilers for the whole series, and possibly OVA's as well, so be forewarned.<em>  
><em>

* * *

><p><em><em>

_"'Suzaku no Miko had finished drying off before the fire, her three Seishi having fallen asleep beside the warmth when the monk returned carrying freshly caught fish. She felt some trepidation, glancing at her sleeping guardians, but also felt a strange comfort with the monk.'"_

_Yui glanced up as he sat heavily down, laying the skewered fish across the flames to cook. She couldn't help but marvel at how different he seemed now, his scar had disappeared somehow, and he appeared to be much jollier, yet she could feel something bothering him._

_"I never got a chance to thank you for saving my life today."_

_He smiled at her, and then gazed at the three sleepers. "Perhaps you should not stand behind Nuriko the next time, neh no da?" He chuckled softly. "At least you got a bath no da."_

_She found the humor in his words and chuckled quietly. After some silence, she spoke again, wanting to know more about this strange man. "You never told us your name, or how you knew to save me just then."_

_He remained silent for a while, gazing absentmindedly into the flickering flames of the warm fire. Then suddenly he reached up to his face, and when his hand came away, she saw it was a mask that had been covering his face. He turned to her, his mahogany eye gazing at her wistfully._

_Yui tried not to stare at the scar, but kept glancing at it absentmindedly._

_"What do you suppose happened to the man whom you were searching for no da?"_

_Surprised at this sudden turn of conversation, Yui blinked, then frowned and responded carefully. "Well, I can't tell for sure. From what we learned, the baker saw the girl running away crying, so I assume that maybe there was an argument between her and her fiancée, I dunno." She looked up at him curiously, wondering if he might be connected to the incident. "...Why do you ask? Do you know what happened to him?"_

_The monk stared at the fire for a while, his eye reflecting the fire's dance. Then he turned and looked at her again. "I have been following you since you first arrived, Yui. I know what you are searching for, and I also know where you might find the rest of your Seishi."_

_Yui had noticed that the monk had stopped using his peculiar "no da" at the end of his sentences. "How...how do you know all that?"_

_He said nothing._

_After several minutes, she decided not to press the question again. "What can you tell us about the other Seishi?"_

_He rose suddenly and turned the fish on the fire, making sure they weren't burning. Yui waited patiently for him to finish, wanting to know what his connection with everyone was._

_Finally, he sat back down and sighed. "I can tell you some more about the man whom you search for." Yui was already suspecting something had to do with him, but waited to hear what he had to say. "The young man caught his best friend kissing his fiancée, and then later she told him she couldn't be with him anymore. He got jealous and did something that he regrets deeply in his soul...He never returned to the village due to his guilt and shame, but instead turned to wandering around the land, never settling down for long..." He drifted off, seeming to look at something that was no longer existent._

_Yui had suspected from the beginning of the conversation that he had something to do with it, and now she knew the truth. Trying not to hit any vital points, she cautiously posted a question. "So...why did you choose to become a monk?"_

_He sighed softly. "I was a scholar to begin with. I enjoyed studying the arts, especially the holy ones. I devoted myself to the books and histories of various cultures, and have always found them fascinating. I still do no da."_

_She decided to play it safe and not bother him about his past anymore, realizing that there was pain hidden there. "So what do you know about the other Seishi?"_

_Pulling himself up a bit straighter, his voice seemed to cheer up a bit. "Well, I know you won't find them without some hardships no da. I know where you can find them, my ki can sense where other ki is no da." He turned to her. "I know for certain where one is right now, but I can't tell where the others are precisely no da."_

_She nodded, a soft smile on her face. "Well, considering we've found four in only two weeks, I'd say we're on a roll, neh?"_

_He chuckled lowly, and raised the mask to his face, putting it on again. "Well, we'll see how easy it is no da!" He got up and took the fish off the fire, cautioning her to take care of the heat._

_"Should we wake them?"_

_"No no da, let them sleep no da. It seems they're exhausted no da. We'll save some fish for them no da. They'll probably be hungry once they wake up no da."_

_As she ate her fish, she posted another question. "So, you never did tell me your name."_

_"Chichiri no da." He bent his knee, and she saw the symbol for Well on his right knee._

_"So...all we need is..." she frowned, trying to remember the names. "Ummm, Chiriko, Tasuki, and ...Mitsuke?"_

_"Mitsukake."_

_"Oops, yeah Mitsukake."_

_Chichiri chuckled quietly, then yawned and leaned back against a tree trunk. "Why don't you catch some sleep, Yui-sama no da. I'll stand watch no da."_

_She stared at him. "All night?"_

_He smiled. "Don't worry, one of the other's are bound to wake up no da. I'll get them to take over no da."_

_Nodding, she smiled and said goodnight, then turned over and nodded off to sleep._

_"'Suzaku no Miko and her other three Seishi had pleasant dreams while Chichiri watched over them in their sleep. Morning came, and brought threatening storm clouds with them.'"_

_Hotohori sat up and stretched, yawning. He looked around, and saw the others were still sleeping. The fire had died, and he saw some cooked fish sitting in the coals, still warm. Then he noticed the monk sitting against the tree half nodding off, his cloak wrapped around him, his staff held closely._

_"You didn't stay awake all night did you?" Hotohori was amazed and ashamed at the same time as the monk's head jerked back up._

_"Well...[yawn] At least it was uneventful no da."_

_Hotohori knelt down beside him. "You have been so helpful as it is, you should have woken me to take watch for you! You certainly exhausted yourself saving Yui yesterday."_

_"Daijoubu, heika no da." He yawned, then stood and stretched. "I can catch up tonight no da."_

_Hotohori sighed, then suddenly drew his breath in sharply realizing what the monk had called him. "You...know who I am?"_

_The monk gazed at the emperor with an amused glance. "One cannot hide the Emperor's grace in common robes no da."_

_Hotohori shook his head in surprise. "You are so correct. Well, please, call me Hotohori while we are not in the palace, I would prefer others not know my lineage. By the way, I don't believe you mentioned your name."_

_"Chichiri na no da."_

_Hotohori nodded. "Well I must thank you for your valiant...WHAT?"_

_Chichiri was hiding a chuckle at the emperor's startled look._

_"You...you mean you are...a Suzaku Seishi?"_

_"Hai no da."_

_"Well I'll be..."_

_Nuriko sat up then, and came over gently kissing Hotohori's ear. "Ohayo Hoto-chan."_

_Hotohori smiled up at Nuriko gently, kissing her hand tenderly. "Good morning, Nuriko-san. Did you sleep well?"_

_"Haaaaiiii." She chorused, then threw a frown at Chichiri who was watching with a bit of disgust on his face. "What's your problem?"_

_"Ahh... nothing no da... nothing at all na no da." He smiled and stood up abruptly. "Let me see if I can get something to eat no da." He threw his kasa down on the ground and jumped into it, disappearing._

_The two just stared at him, then got around to waking Tamahome and Yui up._

_By the time Chichiri had returned, everyone was awake and refreshed, and up to date to their newest Seishi addition. After a leisurely breakfast, Chichiri threw out a suggestion. "I have only limited knowledge as to where the last three Seishi are, but I know someone who can help us discover more no da."_

_"Oh?" Tamahome said, while massaging Yui's shoulders. "Who?"_

_"Taisukun no da."_

_"Taisukun?" They all chorused._

_"Hai, she that governs this world no da. I trained with her for three years and I know that she would be willing to lend us a hand, if we should ask her no da. However, there is a catch no da."_

_Hotohori nodded. "I figured as much. What is the catch?"_

_"She prefers to observe those coming to see her first, so I cannot get us there this time no da. We will have to walk no da."_

_"Hey, Chichiri...it's just a small thing really, but it's gonna keep bugging me until I ask you. Why do you add that "no da" at the end of your sentences?" Tamahome was scratching his head in confusion. "I've never heard anyone do that before, on a regular basis that is..."_

_Chichiri smiled, of course he was always smiling, and nodded quietly. "Well, I just like it no da."_

_Tamahome looked less than satisfied with that answer, but didn't press the point._

_"So, how do we get to this Taisukun's place?" Yui spoke up._

_"It's about a two day's journey from here on foot no da. We can follow the roads most of the way, and from there... well, you'll find out no da."_

_"'So Suzaku no Miko and her Seishi gathered their things and departed towards Taisukun's mountain, Mt. Taiyouku. They traveled all day, as the rain poured down and found an inn to rest at for the night, where they stayed and enjoyed sleeping in warm beds. However, the next morning they woke to a strange predicament...'"_

_Yui had gone to sleep peacefully, but had had an extremely odd dream. She had been standing on a cliff, with a beautiful mountainous range spread out before her. But there were odd pink bubbles floating around, and a green and pink pagoda sitting in the hills. Then, some shadow looking much like a frog appeared in front of her, glowing eerily. "'Suzaku no Miko'" the voice had said, a deep and gravely one, much like grating chains against bars, "'If you should wish to ask for my advice, then you must first solve my challenge. Do so, and I may give you what you desire.'" Then she had found herself falling, and woken up._

_She sat up then, feeling quite strange suddenly. Her body seemed too heavy, and yet...she felt oddly refreshed. Wondering about this, she reached up to scratch her head, and stopped as a purple braid fell over her shoulder._

_Blinking in confusion, thinking she was still dreaming, she picked it up and stared hard. Then, as if in a dream, she stood up, feeling her legs awkwardly beneath her, and immediately walked in front of the mirror._

_""_

_The wall suddenly splintered into the guy's room, waking all of them up suddenly._

_"Ehh, what's wrong no da?"_

_"What's all the fuss?"_

_"Why're you screaming?"_

_Breathing heavily, she immediately demanded, "Tell me I'm not dreaming!"_

_Hotohori blinked at her uncertainly. "What do you mean, Nuriko-san no da?"_

_Instantly, everyone's eyes focused on the emperor, and his hand instantly went to his lips, his eyes wide. Then, Chichiri leapt up a shocked expression on his face. "Hey! Give me back my body!" He grabbed Hotohori by the shirt, pulling him off his feet, his unmasked face quite ludicrous, and the look on Hotohori's face equally as funny._

_Meanwhile, Tamahome had sat up and was staring at Nuriko in the doorway with a look of horror on his face. "What the HELL is going on here?"_

_Suddenly, Hotohori called loudly. "ALL RIGHT ALL RIGHT NO DAAA! EVERYONE CALM DOWN NOW NO DA!"_

_Everyone stopped talking and stared at him. He managed to wrest Chichiri's grip from his shirt and stepped into the middle of the room. "It's fairly obvious what has happened here no da. We should all just calm down now no da!"_

_"Calm down! Calm down! How am I supposed to remain calm?" Chichiri stood up, the mask having fallen off apparently in his sleep. "LOOK AT ME! I'M HIDEOUS!"_

_Suddenly, Hotohori seemed to become very angry, his eyes narrowing to slits and his face becoming dark. "Watch it!" Everyone heard the dangerous tone in his voice, and Chichiri suddenly looked embarrassed. "Ehh, go...gomen Chichiri... I didn't mean... I mean..." He trailed off, his face very red._

_Hotohori sighed, and put his hand to his temples. "It's ok, it's ok... I think we're all just a bit confused right now no da."_

_Tamahome was still staring at Nuriko with a very distressed look on his face. "What about me? We need to get this fixed RIGHT NOW!"_

_"Calm down...uhh..."_

_"I'm Nuriko."_

_"Ok, Nuriko-san, calm down, let's figure out what's going on, we'll get this fixed no da. I know it's strange, but perhaps someone should wake Yui... I mean...Tamahome no da?"_

_Nuriko sighed. "I'll go do it."_

_Soon they were all gathered together and were talking. "I assume that this is Taisukun's way of testing us no da."_

_"Testing?"_

_"Hai, to those who have never journeyed to her place, she puts forth a test of wit, courage, or stamina to make sure they are worthy to approach Mt. Taiyouku no da. She tested me with a thick forest when I came to her at first..."_

_"So what do we have to do to get this fixed, eh? Soon as possible!"_

_"Calm down Tamahome-kun..."_

_"Damn it! I'm Nuriko!"_

_[sigh]"Whatever. The best thing to do is to continue on our journey no da. Switching bodies in itself is no challenge, so there will most likely be another obstacle where we must use each other's talents no da."_

_Chichiri frowned. "You mean, we must use our current body's talents? But we don't know how to do that..."_

_Hotohori sighed. "Actually, you will be the one with the most problem Hotohori-sama no da. My magic is a bit complicated to master no da. Strength, sword skill, and hand fighting are talents that are more easy to adapt to no da. Unfortunately, you will need to have memorized some of the spells to use my magic Hotohori-sama no da..."_

_Nuriko sighed. It was going to be a long day..._


	6. Chapter 6

**_Alternate Fushigi Yuugi_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

_In the Land of the Blind_

**note:**_ This is a work of fanfiction. I do not intend to make a profit off Fushigi Yuugi, it belongs to Watase Yuu, so don't sue me.  
>This is intended to be an alternate reality story, a 'what would have happened if' scenario. There are spoilers for the whole series, and possibly OVA's as well, so be forewarned.<em>

* * *

><p>"'Suzaku no Miko and her four Seishi were walking along the path en route to Mt. Taiyouku, still feeling rather awkward in the positions they had been forced to take.'"<p>

Nuriko sighed as she walked along. It had been very odd indeed having to wear Nuriko's body. She wondered at every step why she felt just totally different in her body. It should be the same, shouldn't it? They were both women, right?

Yui was walking in a sulk, a pout on her face. Earlier she had complained about how she was so defenseless now, and had received a vigorous slap from Nuriko who had forgotten about her talent.

Tamahome was walking along, occasionally still throwing a glance at Nuriko. She would keep seeing the glance, and kept wanting to ask what it was about, but he would quickly shift his gaze back trying to seem like he wasn't glancing.

Chichiri was walking along in a pout. Since he didn't know the spell to hold the mask in place, he was forced to go without it, the envisionment of his worst narcissistic nightmare, and being able to see with only one eye was bothering him, she could tell.

Hotohori was constantly looking around with a smile on his face, enjoying the scenery. It wasn't till Nuriko realized that he must be enjoying seeing with two eyes again that it made sense.

They reached a small valley with a river and paused to drink. Realizing that nature was calling, Nuriko began to wander off into the bushes.

"Hey, wait where're you going?" Tamahome called, standing up suddenly.

She gave him an odd look. "To the little girl's room, is that ok?"

Tamahome looked like he wanted to say something else, but Hotohori put a hand on his shoulder and murmured something to him, then smiled at her. "Go ahead, Yui no da..."

Shaking her head, Nuriko left.

Tamahome turned to Hotohori. "What the hell do you mean 'let her find out by herself?' What do you know about it?"

Hotohori just winked. "Come on, Nuriko-KUN." He said in a low voice so the others couldn't hear. "I got a good look when you pulled me out of the water a few days ago no da. But I think you might have some trouble explaining it to Hotohori, neh no da?"

Tamahome looked suddenly very red in the face, when a startled scream split the air like a knife.

In alarm, Chichiri looked up and jumped to his feet. "YUI?" But Hotohori's arm grabbed his as he tried to go after her. "Let me go! She needs my help!"

"No she doesn't no da! Trust me, she's fine no da. Just wait a moment and she'll be back here any moment na no da."

Sure to his word, Nuriko came dashing through the brush, a pale white look on her face. She stopped, breathing heavily, and then turned and stared at Tamahome in shock. "You..you..you're a..a.."

Tamahome stood with a nonchalant look on his face. "So what if I am? What you gonna say about it?"

Nuriko looked violently sick for a moment, then turned away. "N..nothing I guess."

Hotohori raised an eyebrow, then murmured to Tamahome, "Looks like you're in luck na no da. She isn't going to tell no da."

Meanwhile, Yui and Chichiri were looking quite lost. "Ano...what are you guys talking about?" Yui said with a frown on her face. Chichiri was scratching his head.

Hotohori smiled and straightened up suddenly. "Never mind no da. It's a personal matter between them no da."

Not asking anymore questions, they set off again, with Nuriko still looking rather sick to his stomach.

"'Suzaku no Miko and her Seishi continued on, still trying to deal with their different bodies.'"

Whew, Miaka wiped her brow and looked up from the book, sweat on her face. "Thank goodness that isn't me there! Poor Yui-chan! And to think that that double crossing Nuriko...!"

She set the book down for a minute, her stomach growling at her. "Maybe I should go and get something to eat before I read anymore." She rubbed her neck, feeling the stiffness. "Wait!" She got a sudden flash of inspiration. "Why don't I just take the book home?"

For the first time, Miaka actually thought something intelligent.

The Suzaku group was quite worn out from walking, but they could see the mountains up ahead, telling them that their destination was near.

"Ahh, hopefully this'll be all over with soon!" Yui stretched and yawned.

Suddenly, Chichiri stopped in the middle of the road, his staff jangling with the sudden movement.

Hotohori turned and frowned at him worriedly. "What do you sense Hotohori-sama no da?"

Chichiri frowned deeply. "I..am not sure. There is something around..."

Hotohori sighed, wishing for his talent back.

Suddenly, Nuriko screamed and pointed. "There!"

Just beyond the woods was a pack of wolves, their fangs sharp and glistening red in the noon's light.

"Those are no ordinary wolves no da!"

Instantly, the holy sword was in Hotohori's hand, Tamahome looked ready to fight, Chichiri stood with his staff held defensively in front of him, and Yui looked pissed on the sidelines. Nuriko stood there, unsure of what to do.

The wolves charged in one fluid group, faster than lightning. Yui leapt into a tree, knowing she would be little help with a weaker body. Nuriko backed away into the trees, frightened watching the others fight.

It was a sad fight. From the moment it began, Nuriko saw that they were at a severe disadvantage. Hotohori seemed to be getting used to the sword, but it was obvious that his skill was not at it's peak; Chichiri was just not a swordsman. Tamahome kept trying to punch the wolves, and they didn't go anywhere and this just frustrated him further, not having his super human strength to use. Chichiri looked very lost, and was only able to keep the wolves off of him by using the staff as a prod; he was at the worst disadvantage not being able to defend himself that well.

Suddenly she heard a voice. "What will you do, Suzaku no Miko? They will die without your aide, so what will you do?"

Nuriko stood there, fear on his face. Suddenly, an idea came to him. It was a wild shot, but perhaps it would work. He jumped out onto the road and screamed, "Hey, wolves! Come and catch me if you can!"

The wolves looked up from their attack, and seeing a seemingly luscious easy target, left the injured Seishi and ran toward Nuriko.

Nuriko turned and fled, sprinting back the way they had came as fast as his legs could carry him. Having a different body that was stronger helped, but he could tell that they were gaining on him, and hoped that he could make it in time.

Gasping with the strain of having to run so fast, he looked ahead straining for the cliff in the distance. As he neared it though, he realized that he was going to have to perform some pretty fancy footwork if he was going to make it.

Putting on the extra speed, feeling the wolves' breath on his ankles, he ran with all his strength towards the cliff. Then he did a huge leap into the air at the edge of the cliff, and saw with satisfaction that the wolves had followed him and were plunging down the ravine with startled yelps of fear.

Of course, there's only one problem left, he realized as he found his distance from the edge of the cliff was just a bit too far for him to grab a hold of. But then, he saw a tree branch sticking out of the side of the cliff, and grabbed onto it, which halted his fall.

Minutes seemed to pass, when he heard footsteps and a voice calling. "Here! I'm over here!"

Soon Hotohori's head poked over the edge of the cliff. And relief flooded his face. "Thank goodness you're alright no da! Here, grab my hand no da."

He grabbed onto Hotohori's offered hand and was soon panting on the sturdy grass beneath him.

"That was incredibly brave no da. You risked your life, and possibly Nuriko's life as well no da. Well done."

Nuriko glanced up, realizing that such praise from Chichiri was rare. He was being very serious, and that made a warm feeling tickle all over the inside of his body.

Hotohori helped him stand up and he brushed himself off. Then he realized that Hotohori was injured. "Oh no! Your leg, Chichiri!"

Hotohori glanced down, and winced. "It's ok, not anything super serious no da."

Nuriko saw that he had tied a bandage around it to stop the bleeding, but it was soaking through.

"No way are you walking on that!" He bend down and gestured to his back. "Get on and I'll give you a ride back to the others."

Hotohori smiled quietly, and mounted Nuriko's strong back. "Thank you no da."

They made their way back to the others in good time, but when they got there, Nuriko received a severe shock. Chichiri was lying on the ground with Yui attending to his head, blood everywhere. Tamahome was lying against a tree, his arm bandaged with part of his shirt, and his legs with various wrappings on them as well, while his face was very pale.

Nuriko set Hotohori down and rushed over to Chichiri in fright. "Oh my god!" He felt Hotohori's hand on his shoulder then comforting him.

"What...what happened to him?"

"He didn't know how to use my magic no da, and so he couldn't defend himself no da."

"But...will he be ok?"

"He won't die no da, don't worry."

"B..but your body?"

He looked sadly down at his wounded body. "Well..."

Chichiri's body was pretty badly wounded. The wolves had managed to drag him down, and therefore his whole right side of his face was mauled. Also, he was badly wounded in various other places, arms, legs, ect.

They couldn't tell if he was conscious or not, he wasn't moving.

Suddenly, they heard a voice. "Suzaku no Miko, you did quite well, I am pleasantly surprised." Then before them appeared an old woman, quite ancient and worn, but wearing a splendid outfit. She was floating in mid air.

"Taisukun!" Hotohori said turning to her. "Why such a bloody test no da?"

She glanced at Konan's emperor skeptically. "I'm sorry about your body Chichiri. I'll do what I can to fix it." She snapped her fingers, and several too cute girls popped out of thing air with a cry of "fix fix cure cure" and immediately surrounded Chichiri's inert body, then vanished with it.

Hotohori looked less than pleased, but smartly said nothing about it.

The others just stared.

"Well," she said looking at them with a placid expression on her face, "You did well Suzaku no Miko, I am well pleased with your show of courage. Therefore, I will aide you in your quest for the remaining Seishi." She then snapped her fingers, and suddenly Yui found herself in her own body, much to her relief. Unfortunately, that meant that Hotohori also was back in his normal body, and was screaming in their midst hysterically. Taisukun drew a mallet out from nowhere and silenced him.

Yui turned to Taisukun worriedly. "What about Chichiri...will he be alright?"

Taisukun frowned. "Hotohori was a fool for letting the wolves catch up with him. He should not have been so careless...""She was evading the question.

Yui frowned deeply. "Now this isn't fair. Testing us is one thing, but...no one should be hurt from this "test" of yours! Least of all Chichiri! He's such a great person, and he's a powerful Seishi!"

Taisukun stared at her, a firm look on her face. "I will do what I can. Leave it at that, girl."

Yui realized that there was no talking to the goddess, and smartly shut up.

"Well then, if there's no further things to be said, let us return to my mountain."

Instantly, Yui, Tamahome, Nuriko, and the unconscious Hotohori were flying through the air on a small platform. Surrounding them was spiraling mountains, their beauty of such magnificence that Yui was held breathless.

"This mountain is for only those pure of heart and mind to see. To all others it would merely be a rocky wilderness, not the haven you see before you now."

They arrived at the mountain quickly, marveling at the wonderful architecture of the residence of Taisukun's. They followed her inside, and sat enjoying some fresh tea. As they talked, Yui heard a sound and looked up. Chichiri was being led into the room, a little girl holding his hand, the other on his staff. He wore his mask.

"Chichiri! You're all right!" Yui jumped up and threw her arms around the monk in relief. He seemed slightly surprised, then gently hugged her back.

"Hai, Yui-sama, I'm fine. Thank you for worrying no da."

She let him go, and returned to her seat. Chichiri followed, and had a seat beside Nuriko.

Nuriko was a fairly observant person, and he had noticed that Chichiri seemed a little out of it. He leaned forward and whispered to him as he sat. "Are you sure you're ok? You seem...well..."

Chichiri sighed and bowed his head then replied in the same hushed tone. "I can't see."

Nuriko was struck speechless. He stared at the monk in horror, then anger flashed across his face. Turning to Taisukun, he fairly exploded. "HEY, I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU WERE GONNA HEAL HIM!"

Everyone stared at Nuriko in astonishment, and Taisukun frowned slightly. "I said I would do my best to heal him, I never said it was easy. Though I am a goddess, my powers are limited, even in cases like this. I did what I could for him. But there are some things that even I cannot heal without severe side effects."

Hotohori was staring at the monk in shock and horror, guilt and grief crawling all over his face. He suddenly broke down and stood up, tears streaming down his face. "It's all my fault! If I had been more skilled..." he choked, then looked up a fierce look on his face. "I will gladly exchange his fate, he should not be burdened with my mistakes! Please I beg you."

Chichiri suddenly had stood up, and taken his mask off. There was a deep three pronged gash across his right eye that had formed into scar tissue sealing his other eye closed, just as his left had been sealed. "Enough! It is not your fault, Hotohori, please do not blame yourself! Things like this must be taken in stride, it is nobody's fault. I refuse to have you take responsibility for this, you are the emperor of the kingdom, you know where your duty lies. Do not skirt it."

He sat back down again, but kept the mask off.

The others felt bad that this had happened, and Yui felt partially guilty for what had happened. It had been her that Taisukun had been testing, and Chichiri had ended up getting blinded. As if he hadn't had it hard before, but now...

Hotohori on the other hand, was fiercely fighting his severe guilt. He had been the one responsible for the mage's injury. He should have known how to defend himself better without relying on a sword. He put a hand to his face where he could still feel the wolf's claws sear into his face. Is there nothing that I can do? Nothing to undo what I have done?

Chichiri was calmly sipping his tea, a placid look on his face, revealing nothing of what he was thinking.

"'Suzaku no Miko asked Taisukun for the advice they had journeyed there to find, and received tips on where they could find the Seishi. 'One will appear to you in a cloud of fire, another by necessity, and the third by means of an accident.' It hadn't been much of a hint, but the goddess of creation had pointed them in the correct direction with only the words: 'be wary of the bandits'. And so, they started on their journey back towards the capitol, having lost more than they had gained...'" 


	7. Chapter 7

**_Alternate Fushigi Yuugi_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

_The Pain of the Past, and a New Addition_

**note:**_ This is a work of fanfiction. I do not intend to make a profit off Fushigi Yuugi, it belongs to Watase Yuu, so don't sue me.  
>This is intended to be an alternate reality story, a 'what would have happened if' scenario. There are spoilers for the whole series, and possibly OVA's as well, so be forewarned.<em>

* * *

><p>The fire crackled and popped in the silent half light of dusk. The shadows danced on the trees, bathing them with a strange flickering illumination.<p>

Yui had finished bathing in the nearby lake, and had returned to the camp area. The others had fallen asleep, except for Nuriko who was sitting as guard. He smiled up at Yui as she approached. "Have a nice swim, eh?"

Yui stared at the Seishi, still having mixed feelings about him. Sitting down in the warmth of the fire, she looked up at him. "Why did you choose to be a cross dresser?"

Nuriko merely snorted. "Wouldn't you like to know."

Yui frowned disgustedly. "But you still love Hotohori...and what's worse is he loves you back, but doesn't know about you yet!"

Nuriko just smiled mischievously. "Well, all that matters is love, everything else is trivial." He leaned back with a smile on his face. "I'll tell him sometime, but for now I'm just enjoying this little bit of heaven."

Yui sighed, and decided it was best if she slept for a while.

"'As Suzaku no Miko slept, she kept having nightmares of the many things that had happened in the past few days. Her sleep was restless and incomplete, and she woke shortly before dawn...'"

Yui sat up, not feeling refreshed in the least. She glanced over at the Seishi, Nuriko had fallen asleep and Tamahome had taken over, but had slept on the job. Then she noticed Chichiri was missing. Standing up, she looked around for him. Not seeing him anywhere, she got up and wandered up a trail just behind the camp.

Sure enough, when she reached the crest of the hill, she saw the monk seated on a rock overlooking a gorgeous valley with the faint rays of the early morning sun beginning to show.

She walked up and quietly seated herself on the rock next to him. He seemed to be deep in meditation, but smiled as she sat down. She looked off to the breathtaking view beneath them, and wondered how he could have found such an area.

"Good morning, Yui-sama. Did you sleep well no da?"

She glanced at him. He had apparently finished his meditation, and was stretching his arms above his head. "Not really. I had bad dreams all night."

"That's too bad no da. Remind me to give you something tonight that will make you sleep better na no da."

She nodded, then realized he couldn't see that motion. "Hai, I will. Thank you."

He smiled and raised his face to the hills. It seemed to Yui that he was trying to see the sunrise, and her heart positively ached for him. It was, after all, her fault that he was like this. Silently, Yui vowed that she would try with all her might to help him regain his sight. "The sun looks just like a golden egg poking above the mountains. There's some snow on top of them, so the light paints them golden, shining like a mirror image. There are some birds flying just above the sun, and all you can see is their silhouettes outlined..." She continued describing the scene as best as she could, and the mage listened carefully, his brow bent in concentration, trying to picture the scene carefully in his mind.

After the sun had risen fully, they sat there for some time in silence, just enjoying the warmth of the early morning.

"Yui-sama... Thank you."

She smiled, feeling the mage's gratitude overwhelm her. She fought the tears back, trying to force herself to not blame herself for this incident.

He seemed to sense this, and gently put an arm on her shoulder. "Don't blame yourself Yui no da. It's not something you had control over no da. If you hadn't done what you had, then it's possible that we all might have died no da." He raised a hand, and removed his mask from his face. His face took in the warmth of the sun, and seemed to reflect something of his thoughts as well. "May I tell you a story?"

She nodded, caught herself, and whispered, "Yes."

He nodded quietly, and spoke in a soft voice. "I still carry blame around inside of me for what I did many years ago. You already know that I was engaged to my fiancée, and that there was a flood that killed her and many others in my village. However, I think you should know what really happened between us."

She could tell that this was painful to him, yet he was determined to tell her the story.

"My best friend had also fallen in love with my fiancée, yet I was to naive to notice at the time. One day after we had begun the wedding preparations, I caught him kissing her under a tree.

"I first thought that it couldn't be right, that maybe it wasn't what I had thought, and tried to ignore it. However, she came to me later that day and told me that she couldn't be with me anymore, that she couldn't marry me.

"I lost control at that moment, and that is one of the reasons that I trained so hard to control my emotions...I don't want to lose it again.

"I headed towards my friend's home to confront him, and found him not there. Anger having overcome me, I grabbed a knife, and headed towards the river where he was picking reeds for his family's business.

"I confronted him there on the river bank...the flood already having started to overflow the rivers, and the rain continuously adding to it.

"It was there that I k..killed him."

Yui couldn't help but gasp. Chichiri killed his friend? She couldn't believe that someone as kind hearted as the Seishi had done such a thing.

"I received this scar," he fingered his left scar gently, "...in that fight, and I refuse to remove it else I forget the treacherous thing that I did... others are disturbed by it, so I made the mask to enable others to be more comfortable around me..."

Yui knew then how deeply hurt Chichiri was from the incident, and knew that wounds such as these were best dealt with in time. "How...how long ago was that?"

"Six years ago."

Six? But he couldn't have been very old then when it happened...just how old was the Seishi anyway? "Six years ago? That's a long time..."

"Yes, it is."

Yui sat there, wondering what to tell him. Nothing came to mind, and she wondered if there would ever be a chance that he might stop blaming himself for what he had done. "I...I can't believe someone as kind hearted as you would do something so...drastic. I mean, what exactly happened?"

Chichiri shuddered slightly, but Yui remained adamant about it. Finally he spoke. "I...confronted him on the river... and he denied having stolen her from me. He insisted that it had been an innocent kiss, but I didn't listen to him, I was too enraged. I struggled with him for a while, he was stronger than me so I couldn't actually stab him. Somehow, the knife ended up stuck in the tree, so I pushed him back towards the river, and the bank gave way, and he fell in. I...grabbed onto his hand, lying down...he couldn't swim...so I tried to pull him in, but I...I couldn't move, and then..." His voice was shaking. "...then a branch hit me in the face, and I...let go of his hand..."

Yui sat there, analyzing the facts. So, he hadn't really killed him, he had tried to save him and there had been an accident... Feeling disgust well up she practically exploded at him. "Oh come on Chichiri! You might have been mad at him, but you still cared deeply for your friend and tried to save his life! Then this branch took out your eye, and you let go due to the pain, right? Well come on, be realistic! Anyone would have done the same thing! Something that painful is bound to take you by shock! I don't think it was unreasonable for you to release his hand because you were in pain! You couldn't help it, it was an accident, and you shouldn't blame yourself for what happened!"

Chichiri was facing her in shock, apprehension, anger, and just a bit of doubt on his face. Yui knew that she was getting through to him.

"He was jealous that you were getting the girl, and he did something that he probably regretted. You on the other hand, were angry he had taken her away from you, and you reacted as any normal human being would. What if he hadn't fallen in the river? He probably would have disarmed you, or maybe even killed you by accident or something! And you couldn't have known that that branch would come along. You TRIED YOUR BEST to save him, and I'll bet that if you hadn't let go, you would have been dragged into the river with him. I mean think about it, you were bracing the river, and if you hadn't let go, you still would have lost your brace against the river and he would have pulled you in with him."

Chichiri held a hand up suddenly interrupting her. "It doesn't matter what COULD have happened, all that matters is what DID happen. I failed in my duty as his friend, and he lost his life because of it!"

"But it wasn't your fault, that's what I'm trying to make you see! Think about what would have happened if the roles had been reversed. Would he have reached in to save you if you had fallen in the river?"

Chichiri seemed shocked, and shaken by this, and stuttered, "I...I...I..."

Yui stood up, deciding to let him think it over a bit. "Think about it, ok? You are the most rational and intelligent of the group, by my opinion. You always are giving us advice that is really good and valid. Why don't you take mine now, and think over what happened, and try to realize that it wasn't your fault." She left, letting the mage think over her words in his mind.

"'Suzaku no Miko and her Seishi resumed their journey to the capitol, with many things on their minds. Soon they found themselves in the region near the reknowed home of ruthless bandits...'"

Hotohori looked around in some apprehension, and slowed down to walk with Chichiri who was slowly turning his head around nervously. "Do you feel what I feel?"

The monk nodded. "Yes, someone's following us no da..." He muttered what sounded like a curse under his breath. "I wish I could see them!"

Hotohori felt another wave of guilt overcome him, but he pushed it aside for now. "What should we do?"

The monk frowned. "Find a clearing a bit ahead and come back to me so I can set up something no da."

Hotohori nodded, patting him on the shoulder and told Tamahome to scout ahead and find the desired place. Sure enough, he returned and reported there was a small clearing just about a 1/2 mile ahead. Chichiri asked him to accompany him, and they vanished suddenly.

The rest of the group wandered on, trying to seem like they weren't concerned, but they knew that something was up.

Meanwhile, Chichiri and Tamahome were just up the road. Chichiri was setting up some sort of diagram around the clearing with some odd powder, and Tamahome just watched, the mage saying he didn't require his help just yet, he knew the pattern well enough to do it though he was blind. Soon the others arrived, and Chichiri raised his head, having just finished his diagram. "Don't step on it no da. Come on into the center here no da."

They followed his directions, standing in the center of the diagram, and he told them not to move, that it was very important they remained still during the spell.

Soon enough, they could hear the movement of people, not bothering to approach silently. Then a lone man stepped into the clearing, a scimitar in his hand with a grin of ruthlessness on his face.

"Well, well, well...lookie what we have here. Quite a catch, eh boys?"

Gradually, other men began filing out from around the clearing, wielding swords and other sharp items. Chichiri murmured in a low voice to Yui who was standing next to him. "Tell me when they are all inside the outer circle no da."

Yui gulped, and watched fearfully as the bandits began sneaking forward, one by one, a bloodlust in their eyes. Then, they were all inside the circle, Yui whispered, "Now."

Instantly, the clearing lit up with a blazing light, blinding all of the bandits and forcing the others to cringe. As they cringed, they heard the screams of the bandits as they were enfulged by the magic flame.

When the light died, all the men were lying in dark crisp huddles throughout the clearing.

"Whoa.." Nuriko whispered, awed. "What power..."

Everyone turned and stared at Chichiri. Feeling eyes on him, he scratched his head nervously. "What no da? It was a simple trick no da."

Suddenly, they heard a low moan. Tamahome instantly was on his guard, and Hotohori had his sword out and pointed at the only bandit who had survived. He had managed to get out of the way of the main shock by leaping backwards into the brush.

He opened his eyes to see the edge of a very sharp sword right on his nose. "Don't move."

The man remained still, his eyes gazing up at them accusingly. Hotohori was about to strike, when something pulled him up short. It was only a small thing, but seeing the scar on the side of the man's face reminded him suddenly of Chichiri, and he could not bring himself to kill him. Instead, he sheathed his sword and glared down at the bandit. "We may need a hostage."

Yui looked apprehensively from behind Chichiri, and Nuriko and Tamahome peered down at the hostage. "For what Hotohori-sama?" Nuriko pressed, a frown on his brow. "Why would we need a hostage?"

Hotohori frowned, and shrugged. "They attempted to attack us. There may be another attempt."

"Damn well better believe it if ya keep me hostage, pretty boy!"

Chichiri's head cocked to the side slightly. "That's a familiar dialect no da. You must be from Mt. Reikaku no da."

The bandit glared at them. "Yeah, and you just ran in with the wrong people, monk boy."

Nuriko grabbed onto his shirt, yanking him up so his feet were dangling. "Yeah? And you just ran in with the wrong people too, you low life scum. We're Suzaku Shichi Seishi!"

They were surprised to see the bandit look astonished. "Su...Suzaku Seishi? You are?"

"Yeah, you'd better believe it." Tamahome grabbed onto his hair and yanked it back so he could look into his eyes. "You shouldn't have attacked us!"

"Che," the bandit said with sudden nonchalance, "What do I care. You can all be killed the same!"

"Tell us," Hotohori said pointing his sword at the bandit's throat one more time, "Why did you attack us?"

The bandit turned his head away insolently. Hotohori began to lose his patience. "You're a dead man if you don't say!"

Suddenly, Chichiri laid a hand on Hotohori's shoulder. "Don't. It's fairly obvious why they attacked us no da. They are bandits and we are near their mountain, so they rob passerbys of their money no da. There was no intended harm, they just meant to take your purse Hotohori-sama no da."

Hotohori realized the monk was right, and sheathed his sword. "Well then, perhaps we should let you go then?" He frowned. "Perhaps we should keep him as a hostage until we get safely through the bandit's area?"

Nuriko nodded. "Good idea, Hotohori-sama."

"'So Suzaku no Miko and her Seishi traveled onward with the bandit having joined their group. They past the notorious mountain, and camped out on the outer limits of the enclosure one night. They were unaware of the shadows creeping up on them.'" 


	8. Chapter 8

**_Alternate Fushigi Yuugi_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

_The Plot Thickens_

**ChichiriDA's note:**_ This is a work of fanfiction. I do not intend to make a profit off Fushigi Yuugi, it belongs to Watase Yuu, so don't sue me.  
>This is intended to be an alternate reality story, a 'what would have happened if' scenario. There are spoilers for the whole series, and possibly OVA's as well, so be forewarned.<em>

* * *

><p>Chichiri was on watch, leaning against a tree with his staff, keeping his ears keenly open. The bandit was also awake, and staring into the fire with a strange look in his eyes.<p>

Chichiri reached up and removed his mask thoughtfully, drawing the bandit's attention immediately.

"Oi, what happened to yer eyes?"

Chichiri smiled and shook his head quietly. "You aren't one to be subtle, are you no da?"

The bandit grinned, then laughed softly. "Nah, never was. That's one of my faults I guess. So what happened to 'em?"

"One was by defending Suzaku no Miko, the other I got in a fight with my friend no da."

"Killed him?"

Chichiri blanched, but nodded.

"Heh, what'd he do, betray ya or something?"

Chichiri frowned, raising his face in the bandit's direction. "Would you mind...uh..."

"Kouji."

Chichiri nodded. "Fine then, Kouji-san would you please not press the issue anymore... It is hard for me to talk about no da."

Kouji stared off into space, slightly amazed that the monk would use a respectful title to his captive, then spoke suddenly. "I got one too ya know."

"Eh?"

"A scar. Yer blind, aren't you? Well I got one too, from fighting someone I though was a friend, then turned enemy on me."

Chichiri raised an eyebrow, curious. "Really, how ironic..."

"Yeah, sorta the same ya know. I meant, well, yer from the northlands, aren't ya?"

Surprised, Chichiri nodded.

"Thought so. Ya see, I'm from the northlands too. I grew up mostly at the mountain, but was born in the northern district by the Shiroi Mountains."

"Shiroi Mountains... That isn't too far from my village no da..." Chichiri whispered softly. "I was from the plains beneth them no da."

"Yeah, I thought so. Ya got the lighter blue hair of the northeastern plainslanders."

"Hmm... Why are you telling me all this no da?"

"Cause I'm bored, there's no one to talk to, and well, we're kinda alike and all."

"Really..."

Kouji stared into the fire thoughtfully. "Plus, well I'm not stupid or anything, so I thought I might be able to help you find yer other seishi friend."

"Why would you help us no da?"

"Cause I'm actually thinking of quitting the Mt. Reikaku bandits. They're turning into a real evil bunch lately since Genrou's away."

"Genrou?"

"My buddy. He was supposed to take over as leader, but was on a journey when our leader died, so some fat ass called Eiken took over. He's got weird ideas of invading the capitol and taking over the throne and all that. If only Genrou were back here he could fix things up real well."

Chichiri had looked alarmed at the mention of attacking the capitol. "Attacking the capitol no da? They don't have the kind of manpower to do that do they no da?" Kouji sighed. "Well... actually, you'd be surprised. Eiken's been gathering all the ronin, the outcasts, and the other bandits. They've got a pretty large army now."

"And you've decided to defect to our side no da?"

"Well, kinda. Don't go buttering me up and trusting me or nothing. I ain't gonna become no goody two shoes or nothing. But on the other hand, I don't like the idea of assassinating the emperor and taking over the country and all that. First, it's suicide. They think they have a lot of guys to pull it off, but I'm sure the Konan army is a better match than they think. Secondly, there's no way in HELL that Eiken would make a decent ruler, and to tell you the truth, I don't think any of us could to it, not to run a country. Bandits are one thing, a whole fucking kingdom is another."

Kouji's eyes suddenly darkened and Chichiri could hear a definite change of tone in his voice. "And there's one more reason as well. Ya know how I told ya I got my scar cause of a friend who betrayed me?"

Chichiri nodded.

"Well, HE'S ganged up with them, and has donated the entire Kutou army to help them overthrow the empire of Konan."

At this news, Chichiri's breath sucked in sharply, and alarm flashed across his face. Kouji saw this, and glanced up. "You don't like Kutou anymore than I do, do you?"

"It's not that I don't like them no da... it's the fact that their emperor is a cold hearted person and he leads an army of very evil hearted people no da." Chichiri was severely worried now. "I am a wanderer and have been to many places throughout my life, one of them being Kutou country no da. I have seen their way of life, and it is ruthless and cold compared to ours no da. And also, for as long as the four kingdoms of this world have existed, Kutou has wanted Konan for it's own, the beauty of this land and the rich abundance of it's resources drawing their greed na no da."

Kouji felt that feeling deep inside magnify. He had been wary of Eiken's actions, but had been overpowered to overthrow the tyrant of the bandits due to the tessen that Eiken wielded. With that weapon, the new bandit leader was able to keep his group at bay on his side. "Look," Kouji said at last, hoping that he was doing the right thing, "I'll tell ya this at least. If you take me as a hostage, Genrou will follow, trying to set me free. Catch him, and you will have caught your clue to yer next Seishi."

Chichiri turned to him, a wary look on his face. "How can we be sure to trust you no da?"

"Ya can't," Kouji said grinning insolently to the blind monk. "I'm a bandit, so you can't trust me. But I'll tell you this, if I ever get the chance to kill that son of a bitch who murdered my family and caused me more grief then I can stand to recall, I will become a happy man!"

Chichiri could hear the conviction in the bandit's voice, and knew that while he may not be entirely trustworthy, any enemy of Kutou and this ex-friend would be a good pal to him.

Suddenly, Chichiri could feel something in the shadows, and instantly jumped to his feet.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Shh no da." The monk listened carefully, then decided to raise a barrier just in case.

Kouji jumped as a crackling green force field nearly clipped his hair off. He stared at the blind monk in astonishment at the magnificent show of power. He began to hold a new resect for the mage.

Of course, activating Suzaku's power immediately brought the other Seishi out of their sleep, looking around wildly trying to figure out what was happening.

Chichiri knelt there, focusing on using his ki to find out who was surrounding them.

"Chichiri?"

"It's a group of Kutou soldiers no da!"

Instantly, Tamahome stood in front of Yui protectively, and Hotohori glanced at Nuriko to make sure he was ok.

Then suddenly, Kouji gave a hiss through his teeth, and his eyes turned murderous.

"Nani, Kouji-san no da?"

"It's HIM, that BASTARD!"

Chichiri frowned, now sensing the powerful ki of another nearby. "Seriyuu Seishi no da!"

"Seriyuu's Seishi?" Hotohori said in incredulity. "It can't be!"

Then, a tall man wearing blue dragon armor stepped out of the brush with a daunting air about him.

Yui stared in astonishment. 'Blonde hair and blue eyes! He could be an American for all that I could tell!'

The man stepped forward. "I compliment you, Suzaku Shichi Seishi. You were able to sense my ki despite my concealing it. Impressive." His voice was low and laced with a deep danger that reminded them of a poisonous adder. "However, I cannot allow you to leave this area alive, nor can I allow you to take the traitor with you."

"DAMN YOU NAKAGO!"

"I see you are glad to see me, Kouji."

The bandit just glared at him, venom in his eyes.

Nakago smiled dangerously, and raised a hand. "You are good, mage, but you cannot defend such a large area by yourself indefinitely."

"You're so right no da!" Chichiri called out, raising his staff, and grabbing his cloak. He lay the cloth on the ground, then hit his staff on it, forming a glowing spot of light on the ground. "So we'll take our leave now no da!" To the others he whispered harshly. "Get in now no da!" They immediately jumped onto the cloak, disappearing. Chichiri was about to join them, when he heard Kouji's voice shout out, "You BASTARD, I'll never forgive you! Just you wait, Nakago!" Remembering the bandit was tied up, Chichiri reached out his hand and caught the bandit's shirt sleeve, and dragged him with him as he vanished into his cloak, the protective field popping into nonexistence as soon as the last trace of the Suzaku Seishi disappeared.

"'Suzaku no Miko and her Seishi arrived safely back at the palace of the emperor, thanks to Chichiri's magic, worry and confusion bathing their minds concerning the enemy from Kutou country.'"

Miaka sighed and took another bite of her sandwich. 'Poor Yui-chan, I feel badly for her!" Miaka had taken the book with her back to her home and was now relaxing in a more comfortable setting on her bed in her normal clothing. 'Yui-chan is going through such horrible things! And there's nothing I can do to help her!' Miaka set the book down to wolf down a bowl of instant ramen, then sighed and began reading again, and apple in her other hand. "'When Suzaku no Miko awoke, she remembered the previous events, and instantly dashed out of bed, dressed, and went about finding the others.'"

She was surprised to find it was just before dawn again. The sun was sending gorgeous colors across the buildings in the palace area, and she could feel the crisp morning air refreshing her lungs. However, she was worried about the previous events still.

As she rounded a corner, she saw two figures seated by the small fish pond on the grounds. As she drew nearer, she recognized Chichiri and the bandit Kouji. She hopped down and headed towards them, listening in on their conversation.

"So, I see why you hold such a deep grudge for this Nakago no da..."

"Damn right I do! That bastard! I could never forgive his lying, cheating, double crossing heart, never!"

"Hmm, perhaps if you tried talking to him no da?"

"Che, doncha think I've tried? How do you think I got this scar on my cheek? I tried to talk to him, and he attacked me instead!"

Chichiri was silent, his blind face looking thoughtful. "That's too bad no da. Perhaps there is nothing that can be done by you no da. It would seem that he needs to have a change of heart no da."

"Yeah, but that will only happen when hell freezes over!"

"Hmm, perhaps no da. But about your friend Genrou no da?"

"Ah yeah, good 'ol Genrou!" Kouji grinned and leaned back against the tree, putting his arms behind his head. He had been allowed to be free, so long as someone was with him at all times. Since he and Chichiri seemed to be getting along quite well, and the monk did occasionally need someone to help him out, they seemed to fit together quite well.

Yui walked up and sat next to the monk who, sensing her sit beside him, turned his face towards her for a cheery welcome. "Good morning Yui-sama no da!"

"Good morning Chichiri, Kouji, how are you both today?"

"Much better than yesterday na no da!"

"Yeah, better, feeling a bit less violent.." Kouji scowled and clenched his fist remembering Nakago.

"That's great. Hey, is anyone else up yet?"

"Nope no da, not that I know of no da. Though I'm sure the emperor will be up and about soon no da."

Kouji seemed impressed. "Gee, you guys know the emperor personally?"

Chichiri seemed surprised, and Yui could tell he was smiling behind his mask. She on the other hand was trying to keep from laughing. "Yes, we do know the emperor, and you'll get to meet him today too!"

Kouji frowned. "Would they let me close enough to see him?"

Yui laughed out loud, and Chichiri put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Hai, no da! You'll get to see him quite well too no da!"

Yui leaned back and enjoyed the warmth of the new day, bathing in the sunlight, hoping the new day would bring better news. 


	9. Chapter 9

**_Alternate Fushigi Yuugi_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

_Surprises Keep Appearing_

**ChichiriDA's note:**_ This is a work of fanfiction. I do not intend to make a profit off Fushigi Yuugi, it belongs to Watase Yuu, so don't sue me.  
>This is intended to be an alternate reality story, a 'what would have happened if' scenario. There are spoilers for the whole series, and possibly OVA's as well, so be forewarned.<em>

* * *

><p>"'Suzaku no Miko was enjoying the early morning light as she conversed with the bandit and her Seishi. Memories and ponderings flitted through her head as she watched Chichiri fish, and listened Kouji's ruthless tales of life as a bandit.'"<p>

Yui leaned back in the grass, staring up at the sky in content. Things were so chaotic, that this little reprieve gave her a chance to clear her mind and relax for a little while.

"Anyway, so then I took Genrou to a brothel! Man o man you shoulda seen the look on his face when the girl took her dress off!" Kouji laughed heartily, tears running down his cheeks. Chichiri was smiling humorlessly, allowing the bandit to ramble. "So, then he jumps up, and practically throws the entire bed out the window screaming 'I hate women!' and then he just jumps out the window and I don't see him for another week!"

Kouji grinned and sighed. "When he came back, he looked a little sheepish, but was still pissed at me! That guy's got one hell of a temper, che!"

Chichiri smiled, then suddenly his attention turned to the pond as his bamboo rod shook. "Ah! Caught something no da!" The monk quickly jerked the line out, and a glistening trout lay on the bank, flipping back and forth in the morning light, sending reflections dashing from it's scales.

Chichiri seemed pleased, and had a hard time catching the fish and holding onto it, but he refused help. "Guess I'd better let it go back now no da."

Yui blinked in astonishment. "You mean, you spent all that time fishing for something, then when you catch it, you let it go?"

Chichiri nodded.

"Then what the hell's the point of fishing if yer not gonna eat what you catch?"

"That's not the point no da."

"Then what the hell is the point?"

Chichiri was about to answer when they heard a voice call Yui's name from the palace walkway.

Chichiri smiled. "It seems Hotohori-sama is up na no da!" He stood and put his fishing pole back in his kasa that seemed to hold endless amount of objects.

Kouji looked up, then Chichiri felt him freeze. Yui looked over to see astonishment and fear written across his face. "Why the hell is he wearing all that dumb regal robes and stuff..."

Yui laughed and walked over to where Hotohori was waiting with Nuriko at his side. "Good morning Hotohori! It's going to be a beautiful day!"

Kouji was still staring at Hotohori with wide eyes as Chichiri bowed suavely. "Hai, another beautiful day, heika na no da!"

"Hei...ka...?" Kouji stuttered aghast. "What the...you mean you... are...?"

Hotohori smiled softly and inclined his head regally. "Hai, I am."

Kouji just stuttered a bit, then suddenly pulled himself together and bowed deeply before him. "I am so sorry, heika! I meant no disrespect."

Hotohori smiled, then shook his head. "It's alright, there's no need to make a big deal of it. There's no need to be overly formal."

Kouji looked doubtful, then suddenly whacked Chichiri on the arm. "Aho! You should have told me something 'bout it!"

Chichiri rubbed his arm and gave Kouji a look. "Well, I figured you might do better if you found out yourself no da."

Kouji just mumbled something under his breath and scowled.

That produced a laugh from the group as the morning began to start out on a positive note.

"'Suzaku no Miko joined the emperor and the others for a glorious breakfast buffet."' Miaka rubbed her growling stomach. "Geeze, Yui-chan gets all the good luck!" She then continued. "'However, while they were dining, a stranger was making his way into the courtyard, unnoticed by the guards."'

'Hmph.' He thought as he crouched low by the bushes. 'Not heavily or well guarded, the fools. This is gonna be a piece of cake!' The stranger crouched by the wall, watching the group from a distance. 'That damn Kouji! Looking like he's enjoying it all!'

A deep scowl came from the bush, drawing a nearby guard's attention. Unfortunately, the guard never saw the leg trip him, and felt only a dull pain on the back of his neck before blacking out.

"Heh! So you seem to be enjoying yourself Kouji!" Nuriko was daintily eating like a lady, and Yui was pointedly trying to behave herself in regards to the Seishi. Knowing a secret was hard, even if Chichiri also knew it.

They all were enjoying the meal, and fasting in the abundance that they now had seeing that they were back in the palace. So enwrapped were they in conversation, that they didn't hear the commotion until it was too late.

The door burst open, revealing a fiery red-haired youth in a black coat dominating the doorway. Everyone paused eating, alarm spreading quickly through them as they began to leap to their feet.

"DON'T FUCKING MOVE!" The youth screamed. He held up some strange cards in his hand. "If you do, then I'll see yer eaten up by some nasty canines with long sharp teeth!"

There was the sound of the guards running to the rescue, but the youth shut the door, and grabbed Nuriko who seemed to be the nearest 'weakling'. "If ya move, she dies!"

"Umm, Genrou..." Kouji began, knowing what was going to happen with a sick feeling in his chest.

"Damn you Kouji, not now! I'm fucking busy!"

Unfortunately, this divergence from attention brought the red-haired youth onto the floor staring up at Nuriko who was pinning him with one hand. "So, acting like Mr. Tough and all, huh? What are you going to do now?"

Kouji sighed and shook his head.

Chichiri stood. "Don't hurt him Nuriko. Kouji says he may be a clue to the next of the Seishi no da." Chichiri then paused with a frown. "And I think I might understand why no da..." he murmured softly to himself.

No one heard him however, and Nuriko whined. "Why can't I hurt him just a liiitle?"

Kouji walked over to them and bend down to talk to Genrou who was scowling at him with a fierce look of "you traitor" on his face. "Bastard" he growled showing some cute fangs.

Kouji just kneeled and stared him in the eye. "Do you wanna follow that dumb ass Eiken?"

Genrou seemed puzzled. "Huh?"

"Our leader's dead, Genrou." This provoked a sudden sad look from the youth. "Eiken took the leader's little keepsake and took over, now he's planning to come and invade the palace... with the help of Kutou."

Genrou seemed pissed again. "What the FUCK? That BASTARD! It's suicide to break into the capitol!" He paused when he realized what he had just said, then his face colored the same as his hair.

Kouji sighed and shook his head. "So...are you gonna join that bastard, or are you gonna fight him? If you decide to fight... then you'd better spill your little "secret"."

Genrou seemed to get angry again...he did that a lot. "What the hell? Why would I do a dumb thing like that?"

"Cause they're Suzaku Shichi Seishi."

He blinked, and stared up at Nuriko. "They are?"

"Uh huh."

Genrou seemed to darken, then scowled deeply. "I ain't letting that bastard take over...so..." He narrowed his eyes. "This was your idea, wasn't it?"

Kouji smiled and patted his cheek. "Yup, so you gonna tell them?"

Genrou glowered. "Yeah, dumb ass. What else can I do?"

Nuriko reluctantly let the fiery tempered youth go, and Hotohori assured the guards that everything was alright, thought the guards looked less than satisfied with the development of events.

Nervously, with some embarrassment on his face, Genrou sad down at the meal table and joined Kouji, Yui, and the Seishi.

They waited patiently for him to speak, and when he didn't, Hotohori tried to start a conversation going. "Er, well, Genrou, you must have traveled quite a distance to find Kouji.."

Genrou scowled and stared at his plate, now empty of it's contents. Yui had been reminded of Miaka, seeing the bandit wolf down his food in that manner, and that just made her all the more eager for Genrou to spill what he knew about the Seishi.

When it seemed that he was about ready to spill the beans, there was a ruckus from outside, and a sharp knock on the door.

"Heika! Bad news! There is some villages that have been attacked by a large group of bandits, and it appears that a group of Kutou soldiers has accompanied them!"

Everyone jumped at the news. Hotohori asked in a quiet voice, "How many villages?"

"Three neighboring villages in the lake district, sire!"

Everyone jumped, startled as Tamahome sprung to his feet with sudden vigor. "WHAT?" He immediately dashed towards the door, a fierce look on his face.

Yui stood up suddenly, "Tamahome! Wait a minute!" But it was too late, the Seishi had jumped over the palace wall as the others crowded in the doorway watching his departing figure.

Hotohori was frowning. "Why was he so upset?"

Yui lowered her gaze sadly. "His village is one of the three in the lake district..."

Everyone understood suddenly, and they nodded in sadness.

Kouji scowled. "We hafta go after him, he'll get slaughtered if it's Eiken and the guys!"

Genrou clenched his fist. Yeah, we gotta go and face the bastard."

Chichiri had joined them, and now took the opportunity to speak. "Well, perhaps we should decide who's going to help Tamahome take on the entire group of bandits and the soldiers from Kutou, and then intercept him before he gets himself into trouble no da."

Hotohori sighed. "I...am afraid I cannot go in this matter. The court would not allow it, dispite what I might say to convince them."

"Fuck that, I'm going! Gotta teach that fat bastard who's the real boss!" Genrou elbowed Kouji rather hard. "Besides, he's still got that halisen! We get that then we can turn the tide of things!"

Kouji nodded, and looked at the blind mage. "Well, guess it's just us then."

Yui grabbed onto Chichiri's arm. "Take me too."

Chichiri frowned and inclined his head towards her. "Are you sure Yui-chan no da? This isn't something to fool with no da. We'll have to be doing some fighting no da."

"Yeah, it's gonna be bloody."

Yui straightened firmly, a dark dedicated look falling into her eyes. "I'm going to take care of Tamahome's family. A sick man, and four children! They are virtually defenseless, and I need to make sure that they're ok!"

Chichiri seemed to consider this, but Hotohori frowned deeply. "But Yui, we cannot risk you getting injured! You are Suzaku no Miko and therefore..."

"I am Suzaku no Miko, and therefore I have a duty to the country and it's people. Tamahome's family needs me right now, and so I'm going to give my aide to them!"

Nuriko placed a restraining hand on Hotohori's shoulder. "Don't worry, she'll be alright. If you want, I can go with her to help out. No one'll mess with her if I'M around!"

No one had much to say to that.

"'So Suzaku no Miko journeyed with the other four and managed to intercept Tamahome on the road, coaxing him to calm down enough to listen to reason. After devising a plan, they arrived in the village by way of Chichiri's magic.'"

Nuriko looked around the smoky alley, making sure the coast was clear. He then motioned for them to continue, and then slowly made their way to Tamahome's family's house.

At first when they knocked on the door, there was no answer, causing their hearts to beat faster in anxiety. But upon the second knock, and Tamahome calling out softly for them to open it, a tousled head appeared as the door cracked open, and they were instantly ushered in with warm greetings.

Tamahome's father was able to sit up enough to warmly greet them, but Yui forced him to lie down again. The children clung to Tamahome, crying in tear stained voices that they had been frightened.

Genrou and Kouji had been keeping a lookout from the window, and suddenly hissed in low voices, "They're coming!"

Yui and Nuriko herded the children into the rear room, and then Nuriko carefully moved Tamahome's father there as well.

Genrou, Kouji, Tamahome, and Chichiri all were crouched by the door.

"How many of them no da?"

"Uhh, bout 50 or so."

"Too many for us!"

"Shit! If only I had that halisen! These fucking paper wolves don't last too long against that group!"

Chichiri frowned slightly. "Paper wolves no da?"

Kouji stared at Genrou. "Yeah, what paper wolves? I don't remember you having any 'paper wolves' before Gen-chan."

Genrou dug some strips of paper out of his pocked and held them up. "These are magical items that a Taoist gave to me on my journey. An incantation will turn them into anything you have written on the paper. It's sorcery."

Chichiri seemed to dwell on that for a minute. "Sorcery no da? Hmm...may I see them no da?"

Genrou stared at the mage in surprise, then shrugged and handed them over to him.

Chichiri concentrated on the paper for a little bit, then suddenly they began to glow red.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?" Genrou tried to snatch them back, but Kouji stopped him with a warning look.

Chichiri finished muttering a spell, then handed the paper back to him. "Now they will be a little more efficient no da."

Genrou stared at him suspiciously, but then turned his attention back to the streets.

Tamahome scowled deeply. "Let's go and take them out now!"

"Patience, Tamahome-kun. We don't want to get ourselves killed no da."

Slowly, the Seishi crept out, deciding an ambush from behind with a distraction up front worked the best. Chichiri separated from the others while they crept into position. When all was ready, the mage stepped into the street boldly.

Seeing the monk there, the group of bandits and soldiers began heading towards him.

"Well lookie here. We got ourselves another victim!" A bandit said, brandishing a knife wickedly.

"Heh, whatcha doing out here all by yourself, monk? You look a little lost, maybe we can help you out!"

"For a charge of course!"

"Those beads look nice."

"I'd get a good price on that staff of yours."

Chichiri said nothing, waiting for them to close in. He was about to make his move when suddenly a voice snapped sharply from the other side of the street.

"HOLD IT!"

The other three blinked in surprise, seeing the look of astonishment on Chichiri's face, as he turned his head towards the speaker.

The gang had halted, and one of the soldiers spoke up. "Boss? What's wrong?"

Walking towards the mage, a look of bewilderment on his face, was a commander for the Kutou forces. As he neared the mage, he paused. "Chichiri? Is it you?"

Tamahome, Genrou, and Kouji were astonished when Chichiri replied, "Shiusei...I didn't think you would be here no da..."

**ChichiriDA's note:**_ I would like to take the time to thank Kai-Ling, Yui-chan and WMC for their contributions (like it or not) by supplying the info for Shiusei and Kouran taken from the Chichiri novel by Watase Yuu._


	10. Chapter 10

**_Alternate Fushigi Yuugi_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

_A Friend Amidst Pain_

**note:**_ This is a work of fanfiction. I do not intend to make a profit off Fushigi Yuugi, it belongs to Watase Yuu, so don't sue me.  
>This is intended to be an alternate reality story, a 'what would have happened if' scenario. There are spoilers for the whole series, and possibly OVA's as well, so be forewarned.<em>

* * *

><p>"What are you doing here Chichiri?"<p>

Chichiri turned and faced the commander with an air of familiarity. "I could ask you the same thing Shiusei no da!"

Much to the surprise of the awaiting ambushers, and the soldiers and bandits, the two men embraced strongly, both holding smiles on their faces.

"Damn! It's been a long time since we've seen each other! How've you been? What are you doing here?"

Chichiri smiled and nodded his head. "Yes, it has been quite a while hasn't it no da? As to what I'm doing here, well it appears I'm trying to stop you no da."

Shiusei frowned and glanced at his soldiers. "I had no idea it was your village..."

Chichiri shook his head. "Not mine...but one of my country's still the same no da."

"Your country's... you mean Konan?"

"Hai."

Shiusei scowled and his expression grew dark. "Damn them! They never said anything about invading helpless villages in Konan! I thought this was a mission to settle a rebellion in one of our villages!"

Chichiri seemed sad. "I see. So you didn't know that you were to attack women and small children no da?" His voice held a slight accusation in it, not condescending, but rather disappointed.

Shiusei lowered his head. "I'm sorry. I never should have signed up for the army, I'm beginning to discover now.." He put a hand on Chichiri's shoulder. "But perhaps I can change that! I'll order my men to stop and turn around right now."

One of the bandits leaped forward with rage toward the commander. "You dirty double crossing bastard!" He ran full speed at the two friends, and Chichiri had no time to react.

Suddenly, the man gave a howl of pain and fell down on the ground screaming as something attacked him from behind. The other soldiers and bandits quickly vacated the scene when they saw three large wolves with very sharp teeth finishing their partner off.

The wolves finished quickly enough, and then turned and faced the direction they had come, where an astonished Genrou was standing with his eyes wide.

"What the fuck did you do to my cards Chichiri?"

The mage smiled softly. "I upgraded the incantation no da. The way the spell was set up, they would disappear once they were killed or if their job was done no da. I merely gave them more substance. They will now disappear when you banish them, and until then they are flesh and blood and under your control no da."

Genrou gaped at the mage in outward astonishment. "Geeze, for a blind guy, you're pretty good!"

This caused Shiusei to rapidly grab Chichiri's arm. "What? What did he mean Chichiri?"

He shook his head and gestured towards the sound of oncoming feet. "We are going to have company no da." Instantly, the group faced the oncoming fleet of bandits, with a huge man leading them, wielding a metal fan.

"Well, well. If it isn't the traitors Kouji and Genrou! Turning the tide, eh boys?"

Genrou bared his fangs at the bandits. "You fat bastard! What makes you think you can snatch control cause of our leader's death! You are so fucking ugly!"

Kouji joined his friend in baiting the leader of the bandits. "Yeah, an asshole like you doesn't deserve to use that tessen! Our leader must be rolling in his grave in horror of your dirty corrupted hands being on it!"

This seemed to piss the leader off sufficiently, and he snarled out viciously at them. "You weren't around, jackass. Tough shit! These boys now follow me, so I'd say you're screwed good enough!" He then looked at the commander. "And it seems you are a traitor as well! You're forces will understand when I kill you for treason!"

Shiusei frowned and straightened sufficiently. "I think you underestimate them. They are loyal to me and would not mutiny.

Eiken smiled viciously. "Oh? Well, now ain't that interesting? Seems to me that your "troops" are loyal to Kutou, and you aren't!" As if to back up his point, the army of soldiers drew their swords and glared at the small group.

"Aww shit!" Genrou muttered. "They're gonna outnumber us!"

Tamahome cursed under his breath. "We are in deep trouble, uh huh."

Shiusei was still trying to talk sense into the army. "You follow this ruthless bunch of cutthroats? Have you no honor or decency? Can't you see that you've been attacking innocent women and children?"

"Genrou, summon the wolves and order them to attack the leader no da."

Genrou turned his head to find the mage crouched by him. "What the fuck for? They wouldn't do much good against that tessen!"

Chichiri lowered his voice. "The wolves are immune to many forms of attack no da. That tessen throws fire if I'm not mistaken no da. They will be unharmed unless stricken by a sword no da."

Genrou stared at the mage. "Che, you're really good! But the wolves won't take care of all of them..."

"Tell the others to take cover and leave it to me no da."

"But you can't see what they're doing! I'll help you."

Chichiri nodded and Genrou passed the word around, then dug the paper out of his pocket.

Meanwhile, Eiken was still gloating. "You won't live to see another daylight, Shiusei!"

Shiusei straightened and tore his insignia off. "Fine then, if I die, I don't die as one of you murdering bastards."

Suddenly, Genrou shouted an incantation, and the wolves leapt forward hungrily. Eiken saw them coming and cried out "Lekka Shinen" and fire spewed from the metal fan as the defenders scrambled for cover while Genrou and Chichiri began to set up an attack.

Eiken, realizing too late that the fire didn't work, now had several hungry canines affectionately sitting on him, and he let out a screech of terror.

Taking momentary advantage of the chaos, Chichiri raised his hand and pointed his staff at the group murmuring a spell under his breath.

"No, wait! The tessen!" Genrou managed to gasp out just as a crimson blast of light left Chichiri's staff racing towards the army. However, he soon realized it was too late.

Taking further advantage of the chaos, Tamahome, Shiusei, and Kouji joined the fray and began furiously attacking. Genrou was supporting Chichiri who had entirely worn himself out with the constant use of power he had been required to use recently. He looked up to see the fried form of Eiken still clutching a twisted and melted mass of metal.

"Aww, shit." He murmured beneath his breath.

The last few defenders had managed to finish off the remaining soldiers, and were watching the surviving group strategically retreat out of the village.

"Damn, well at least that takes care of Eiken." Kouji walked over and nudged the remains of the bandit with his toe. "Tessen's useless now too."

Tamahome and Shiusei walked over to where Genrou was supporting Chichiri as he caught his breath.

"You ok, Chichiri?"

The monk nodded and stood up slowly. Seeing he could support himself now, Genrou left his side to glare at the charred remains of Eiken. He clenched his fist tightly, a deep scowl on his face. "That bastard... now most of the Mt. Reikaku bandits are dead. He killed his own people with that fucking suicidal move!"

Tamahome shook his head and was about to head back, when something caught his eye. Peering closer, he grabbed Genrou's right hand.

"Hey, what the fuck are you doing?"

Tamahome pulled Genrou's sleeve back, revealing a glowing character on his arm. He glanced up at the red-haired youth. "You're a Seishi."

Genrou whipped his hand away from Tamahome's grasp with a snarl. "Yeah, so what?"

Chichiri had managed to regain some strength, and was leaning against Shiusei's arm for support. "I figured that was the case no da. I could feel a stronger chi about you no da."

Kouji laughed and clapped Genrou on the back. "Congrats, "Tasuki". They found ya out!"

"Shut the hell up!"

Gaining laughs from all the group, they made their way back to Tamahome's family's home where Nuriko and Yui were waiting anxiously.

"Took your time! What took you guys so long anyway?" Nuriko looked impatiently at them tapping his foot.

Yui was holding Yuiren in a hug, and smiled when she saw them all come back safely.

They settled inside at the family's table and began discussing things then.

"So, what a surprise! You turned out to be a Suzaku Shichi Seishi!"

Genrou, Tasuki, snarled but said nothing as Kouji sipped his tea with an amused expression on his face.

"Yup, Genrou's been real good at hiding it from everyone." That got him a whack from Tasuki.

"So, what is your talent no da?"

Tasuki glowered. "What the hell do you mean?"

"Everyone has a specific talent they're proficient in no da. Mine is magic, Tamahome-kun's is hand combat, and Nuriko's is strength no da. What's your specialty no da?"

Tasuki just glared at his tea.

Finally Kouji spoke. "He doesn't know."

Tasuki glared at his friend, but spoke in a tired tone. "Yeah, che, even I don't know what it is. My character shows up when I'm pissed, but I never had any special ability. Those wolves are tricks anyone could pull off. And it ain't like I'm strong or nothin."

"Hmm," Chichiri mused. "Now this is definitely a challenge no da..."

"Hey, Chichiri, are you gonna introduce us to your friend or not?"

Smiling suddenly, Chichiri put a hand on the commander's shoulder. "This is a friend of mine, Riyuu Shiusei no da. We met a long time ago no da."

Smiling, Shiusei put a hand on Chichiri's back familiarly. "Yeah, I saved his life, and in return he saved mine."

Nuriko smiled. "How nice! How did you two meet, I mean, you're a commander of the Kutou army, aren't you?"

Shiusei nodded and glanced at Chichiri out of the corner of his eyes. "Well, my wife Kouran, fiancée at the time, and I were enjoying a splendid spring day walking along the river and just happened to see a distressed young man throw himself into the river."

The group stared at Chichiri in shock. "No!" Yui said in astonishment. "You tried to kill yourself Chichiri?"

The mage merely nodded. "Hai. It was during a depressing time in my life no da. I did try to commit suicide, but luckily Shiusei and Kouran managed to pull me out of the river no da. I got a broken arm, but lived no da."

"Yeah," Shiusei slapped him on the back. "And then we had to talk reason to you afterwards. You just didn't want to listen!" He smiled and continued on. "He was half dead when we dragged him out of the water, and I still think the only thing keeping him alive was his power as a Seishi. His symbol was glowing, that's how we knew what he was. We treated him, counseled him, and managed to change his mind."

Chichiri smiled. "And I'm still grateful you managed to do that no da. Only Suzaku knows where I might be if you hadn't saved me no da."

Shiusei sipped his tea casually. "At least you repaid us by saving our lives from that avalanche of water."

Chichiri nodded. "It was the first time I had really used my power for anything no da. It's a good thing I had been able to control it no da."

Shiusei nodded and smiled faintly. "How's life treating you nowadays, Houjun?"

Chichiri smiled faintly at the use of his personal name. "Better than when we last met, Shiusei no da."

Shiusei frowned slightly. "What did red-head mean when he said you were blind? Did something happen?"

Chichiri was silent for a while, the other seishi and Yui sitting in discomfort. Then silently he lifted a hand up to his face and removed his mask.

Tamahome's family, and Tasuki had never seen the monk without his mask before, and drew their breath in sharply upon seeing his scarred face. Shiusei merely looked saddened and put a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "I understand Houjun...but...how did this happen?"

Chichiri smiled faintly, his face seeming paler than usual. Suddenly, just as he seemed about to talk, he drew his breath in sharply, clutching at his chest in pain.

Alarmed, everyone instantly cried out to him. Shiusei gripped Chichiri's shoulder and tried to support him as his body shook from strange strangled sobs that seemed to shake his frame. "Houjun! What's the matter?" A look of desperation seemed to flood the ex-commander's face as he watched his friend go through spasms of pain.

Nuriko was instantly by the Seishi's side, hurriedly ripping his shirt off, then placing his ear to Chichiri's chest as the mage wheezed. Concentration screwed onto his features, he let out a hiss. "He's having a heart attack!" 


End file.
